Q&A with Becky Paxton

NM: How did you get started in horticulture?

BP: I come from a few generations of professional musicians — my mom, my dad and my grandparents were professional musicians. All my aunts and uncles do that professionally, and my sister had a record deal at 15 years old. So, how do you rebel when your parents have this rock star lifestyle, and you’re in a family that’s always out late at concerts (laughs)? For me, when I was 13 years old, I went to the Cheekwood Estate and Gardens, and I thought this is what I want to spend my life doing. My parents were stunned because it was a real departure from what the rest of my family did, and I just knew in my soul, at 13 years old, this is how I was going to spend my life. I volunteered cleaning, teaching little kids and helping at their summer camp. Then that became my first job when I was 15 years old. I have basically worked in gardens ever since. When I was in college, my dad told me, ‘When you’re ready to get serious, I’ll send you a guitar.’ And he really meant that (laughs). So, it’s really funny; this has been a wild teenage rebellion turned lifestyle for me.

One tie in to my family that I think has really motivated me is that I grew up in Nashville, and I’ve lived in Nashville my whole life. I’ve been surrounded by people who have taken a passion career and been able to make a living out of it. I view horticulture very much through the same lens. I am not a tender of the earth; I am not a gardener by trade. I’m an administrator, and a part of that passion for me has always been that I’ve been really fueled by this question — How can I help people who are passionate about what they do, make a living and make it sustainable? That’s really what guides me, and I view horticulture as one of the creative arts. I think there’s so much beauty and artistry that goes into it, so my calling has always been how can I make sure people who make our world more beautiful are able to do so.

NM: What do you do as an account executive at Garden Media Group?

BP: I do PR for some terrific clients. I help connect the consumer and trade media with what’s new and next with my clients. I also advise on social media and influencer strategy. I coordinate influencer relationships. I sometimes do events where we raise awareness and excitement for new launches. I also work with my team to do trends forecasting for the garden industry, and we have so much fun with that. We really are so encouraged to dream big. We dream big for our clients. We dream big for our industry. It’s such a fulfilling job.

My calling has always been how can I make sure people who make our world more beautiful are able to do so. - Becky Paxton

NM: What is your favorite part of the job?

BP: For me it’s the perfect creative job. I was really taken aback by how creative we are able to be in this job. I love being a storyteller. I love getting people excited. I’m the ultimate hype man (laughs). Like if somebody is graduating, I’m going to be in the front with their name on the sash (laughs), and I get to do that professionally, which is really fun.

We are often encouraged by our clients to think outside of the box. For example, we did a roadshow with Plant Development Services (PDSI) across the southeast this past spring. Everything is purposeful; it is to create a shared understanding of what is so wonderful about the plants that we’re celebrating. So much of what we do is to look for ways to tie into the country’s passion for gardening that has really spiked since COVID. I think people really have come to understand that gardening and caring for plants is a way to feed the spirit, and at Garden Media Group, we really get to echo that and to tell them you’re not crazy. Gardening is the best thing since sliced bread, and let’s show you some things that will make it even more fun, even more satisfying and even more productive.

NM: Can you elaborate on the importance of good branding/marketing?

BP: I think good branding and good marketing matters whether you are B2B or B2C. Sometimes people have been doing what they do at such a high level, and they understand the quality of what they have, that marketing almost feels like the next frontier — something new that they must do and have to add on top of their already incredibly busy place. They’re already so busy excelling and meeting needs that marketing almost feels like this burden. So, to me, marketing is actually just an extension of who you are and what you do. … Frequently you have businesses that do something very well and they have a culture in place; your marketing is just an extension of that culture. You don’t have to be burdened by the thought that this is something new that you’re doing. What you’re actually doing is just pulling this wonderful culture and this important work that you do into the spotlight, and when you begin to view it through that lens, everything else just becomes tools, tips and hacks from there.

NM: When you’re not working, what are some of your hobbies?

BP: Oh my gosh, my hobbies are so dorky (laughs). I love reading. I really took maximalism to heart during the pandemic, and I painted my office hot pink and created a rainbow library. So, it’s kind of my garden that I tend to — color coding my books and finding beautiful accessories to go on the shelves. I love building miniatures. Again, probably not the coolest hobby anyone ever told you about, but I have a really sweet collection of little robots that I order online, and I bought those huge visors that you see mad scientists wearing in movies because my vision is not good and it helps me make my robots (laughs). The question then becomes, once you build a certain number of tiny plastic robots with moving parts, what does one do with this army? So, my father is an avid model railroader. So, I have started sneaking them into his Christmas train line kind of strategically. The train will wheel around the station, and if you look inside the station, there’s the Terminator.

For more: gardenmediagroup.com