On the QT | The Official Newsletter of GWA June - July 2017 | Page 14

MEMBER PROFILE
K AT I E E L Z E R - P E T E R S
Teresa Watkins: Change
As a Way of Life
Did you know that
Theresa Watkins is the
reason why there’s a
Home Depot Garden
Club now? And it’s not
because she was hired
to create something
catchy or buzz-worthy
or moneymaking for
the home-improve-
ment store chain. It’s
because she saw a need and she fulfilled it.
Let’s back up. In 1996, Teresa was neck-
deep in corporate work. “I had been an office
manager and a restaurant manager, both
high stress jobs. But that year, when my
mother died, I experienced a profound de-
pression. When, six months later, I decided to
get out of bed and face the world, I saw that
The Home Depot was opening a store in my
city, so I went to work in the garden center. I
just didn’t want to think about anything.”
THI NK O U TSIDE T H E B OX
If you’ve met Teresa, you know that “not
thinking” didn’t last long. “After a few months,
I had taken the Florida Master Gardener
course, and so I had a little more plant
knowledge than other people working there.
Soon, on Saturday mornings, I had a line of
people waiting to ask me questions.”
To manage the traffic flow and to encour-
age the budding gardeners stopping by,
Teresa said to her manager, “What if we do a
garden club one weeknight per month?” So
they did. “We’d move the lawn mowers out
and we’d have 100 to 150 people coming to
our meetings.” Her manager got a call from
headquarters in Atlanta asking what was
going on. “All of these snowbirds were going
back to Indiana and Ohio and asking why
their stores didn’t have a garden club.” After
a visit from corporate to see what Teresa and
her cohorts were doing, the Home Depot
Garden Club was rolled out nationally.
After two years with The Home Depot, Te-
14
resa went to work for an independent nursery.
Soon after, an opportunity came up for her to
take on a position with the University of Flor-
ida. As she did during her time at The Home
Depot, Teresa took the program and made it
her own.
“When I started, the program I was working
with was geared toward certifying yards as
Florida-Friendly landscapes. I looked at what I
was to be doing. I had three counties to cover.
I knew I couldn’t certify more than 30 yards per
month, and that was being optimistic.” So she
stepped back to evaluate the bigger picture.
“I said, what if I do a three-hour workshop, for
free, and then people have to take a before
and after test to be certified.” By evaluating
and changing the program, Teresa has helped
35,000 Florida gardeners develop more envi-
ronmentally friendly landscapes. “The university
liked it because the numbers grew,” she said.