About Jennica
PaintedPlants grew from curiosity, an unexpected career change, and the realization that I felt most like myself when I was outside paying attention to what was growing.
I bought my first home in July 2018. One year later, my husband and I were married in the backyard. Before the wedding, he built a shed, a deck, and several raised beds. At one point he looked at the empty beds and asked, “Are you going to fill them before the wedding?” Neither of us knew it then, but he was planting the seed for my future—figuratively and literally.
At the time, I managed beverages at a Detroit music venue. When COVID shut live music down, I suddenly had time to pay attention to my home and garden. My neighbor, Ellen Burns, noticed what I was doing and invited me to work with a gardening business made up of experienced Master Gardeners. Bev Moss taught me the fundamentals during the two seasons I worked with them, and I will always be grateful for that beginning.
When venues reopened, I helped reopen a larger Detroit venue and had recently become a mother. I found ways to bring plants into that world by designing and planting large commercial planters, but long indoor shifts made it obvious where I wanted to be: outside, paying attention to what was emerging and blooming.
In spring 2023, I left music-venue management and began working for myself. I was also fortunate to learn from Eric Hofley of Michigan Gardener and Julia Hofley, a garden writer and educator. My work follows Michigan’s seasons: design during colder months, restoration and installation during the growing season. Plants are living paint, and the canvas changes through every season.
Philosophy
Many clients reach out because their landscape feels overwhelming. I begin by understanding what is happening before deciding what should be planted. My goal is not to turn every client into a horticulturist. It is to help you understand what is growing, why it belongs, and what it needs.
I have learned that old gardens have archaeology.Tell me about your garden
