Q&A with Samantha Hardeman

Hardeman is a 2023 Perennial Plant Association (PPA) scholar, and she was a grower at Cavano’s Perennials for three years. She recently moved into a sales/marketing role at Cavano’s Perennials to learn more about that aspect of the industry.

NM: How did you get started in the horticulture industry?

SH: I got started in the industry when I was in high school. My high school had a magnet program that allowed me to learn about plant science. [see sidebar] The program displayed a lot of the broad spectrum of the industry. After I was done with high school, I got accepted into the Community College of Baltimore County, American Landscape Institute (ALI). The ALI paired me with Cavano’s Perennials as an employer, and Cavano’s paid 80% of my tuition to go there for two years while I studied horticulture. The program really made me fall in love with plants.

NM: What do you do as a grower at Cavano’s Perennials?

SH: I recently took a career change to learn about an aspect of sales within the industry. However, I love being a grower, and I just changed positions a month ago. My duties as a grower were very vital for the company. I oversaw our second location as well as five other greenhouses. During the spring, I grew about 100,000 plants. I grew all of our Hostas and Astilbes on the property as well as growing and maintaining hundreds of more species and cultivars. Now, I’m in sales and marketing. I really wanted to get full exposure to the nursery trade and learn as much as I could about every role at the nursery. In the three and a half years I’ve been at Cavano’s, I’ve worked my way up from being an order puller to being in sales. For sales, I process orders and have some accounts that I oversee. For marketing, I manage the photos for our website and for our availability emails that go out every Friday.

NM: What is your favorite part of your job?

SH: I really love the people that I work with. They are so nice. I love talking with the Hispanic ladies; they always teach me more Spanish words, so I can communicate with them. Another part I really love is seeing the plants grow. I think it’s the most satisfying job that you can have in the nursery trade, to watch your plants grow week after week. Sometimes I take progress pictures of them to see where they were four weeks ago compared to now, and it’s just very satisfying to see.

NM: During your time as a grower was there anything that challenged you?

SH: I would say IPM, honestly. I didn’t learn much about integrated pest management in classes. The hands-on learning experience was great for me.

NM: How did being a PPA scholar change your life?

SH: I went to another country, which is amazing. Having the opportunity to do that and seeing the beautiful landscapes and growing facilities was amazing and fantastic. I enjoyed meeting the other scholarship recipients. We really bonded that week, and we’re still in touch to this day, even though we all live across the country from each other. Meeting the people in the industry from all around the world was very eye opening, and it made me want to travel and experience working at other facilities.

NM: What advice would you give other young people in the horticulture industry?

SH: I would say there's a lot of opportunities that come your way in this industry, like me going to PPA’s National Symposium, and you have to take those experiences when you get them, opportunities to meet new people and have new connections. You never know who you’re going to meet at these places, and I feel like it’s going to help you out in the long run.