Meet Chelsea Hendryk & Sam Jones Chelsea Hendryk & Sam Jones | Landscape Designers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chelsea Hendryk & Sam Jones Chelsea Hendryk & Sam Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chelsea Hendryk & Sam Jones, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
We saw the opportunity to provide a specialized planting design and maintenance service that aligned with our interests and education. We are both ambitious people, driven to continue learning and discovering, so we decided that we wanted to work for ourselves to connect more with plants and people. With Green Side, we’re able to be hands-on with plants during our regular plant care services and can contribute more to planting design decisions. Having lived in Southern Arizona our entire lives, we’re acutely aware of our water issues especially in regard to landscaping and irrigation, and want to more directly incorporate our knowledge of low-water plants into people’s homes and yards.

What’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?

Just saying yes to every opportunity and figuring out how we were going to deliver was exciting but quickly overwhelming. Everyone needs yard work! Moving rocks, adjusting irrigation, and battling cactus relentlessly brought us to terms with the reality of the endless projects in store if we didn’t establish ourselves as niche designers. We quickly learned which parts of the planting design and maintenance process we do and don’t like, and are now narrowing our focus to plants for the indoor environment and low-water outdoor residential design projects we find most rewarding. We’ve realized that working extra and taking as many jobs as possible doesn’t automatically lead to success.

Risk taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?

Starting Green Side was certainly a risk in itself, and this encourages us to take more risks in the interest of opening doors to new opportunities. We feel we’re fast-tracking our personal growth with the responsibility of owning a business and taking care of people’s plants.

What habits do you feel helped you succeed?

Making time for furthering our education has helped us learn how to express ourselves effectively and with style. We often review our plant lists from design school, and visit our favorite Sonoran Desert plant websites to create fresh palettes. We’re out here reading articles, watching videos, and just seeping in the latest plant care tips to help us- help plants- flourish. By being in tune with the local plant scene we end up at events and conferences that always expand our network and knowledge base, never in the way we expected.

What is the most important factor behind your success/the success of your brand?

Our design background alongside being native to Tucson means we both have planting ideas flowing the moment we step into a new space. We have found reliable public resources online and in person, many around Tucson, that give sturdy roots to our designs. Continuing to hone our sensitivity to the land we are planting and the flora we’ve grown so fond of is a rewarding adventure.

What’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?

Our career has taught us how important it is for people to connect with nature regularly, even in as small a dose as having a few houseplants to exchange air with over morning coffee. Plants not only beautify and enliven a space, but they are inarguably beneficial to our physical and mental wellbeing. We live to experience the joy and fascination tied into people’s reaction to new plants in their home or yard. Exponential excitement ensues as they watch the plants grow, and the homeowners often develop a fondness and appreciation for their plants.

Work life balance: how has your balance changed?

Recent literature we’ve read has driven us to take measures to take charge of Green Side, instead of simply feeling responsible for it. It has become a priority to pay ourselves well and invest in the wellbeing of the business. This change in mentality continues to open up doors to the prosperity we’ve envisioned.
We’ve learned to be flexible in our timing and divide our responsibilities through the week. Having ample time for our own personal care and interests keeps our attention and ambitions high when we are at work.

How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Green Side was an opportunity as soon as we recognized the need. We knew people who wanted help with their plants, and we made ourselves available. Taking on this responsibility opened up opportunities for design jobs and more maintenance clients. From here we’ve built the business around the responsibilities we most enjoy, such as unique indoor arrangements and water-considerate residential design. Basically everyone loves plants and wants more of them around, but not everyone has the time or interest in maintaining them. Our life-long obsession with plants has provided us with the skillset to care for many indoor and outdoor plants that can grow in this region, while our design education has allowed us to explore creative ways to arrange plants appropriately for this environment. We love educating people and introducing them to the awesome world of plants.

Why did you pursue an artistic/creative career?

Landscape Architecture is the marriage of art and science that each of us had been looking for since childhood. Creating aesthetic planting designs allows us to express ourselves in multiple dimensions and then ultimately bring out the spirit of a space. Our designs are often native plant centric, and set a great stage for the visiting wildlife to tell the story of the Sonoran Desert.

What are you inspired by?

We are inspired by both professional and ad-lib designers that can hone the natural beauty of a space and play to the advantages of the environment as it is presented. We spend a lot of time wandering nurseries and local botanical gardens, and searching pinterest for interesting planting combinations. This helps grow our imaginations and add to the kaleidoscope of planting options we consider when surveying a new plot.

What should our readers know about your business?
We saw the opportunity to provide a specialized planting design and maintenance service that aligned with our interests and education. We knew people who wanted help with their plants, and we made ourselves available. Taking on this responsibility opened up opportunities for design jobs and more maintenance clients. From here we’ve built the business around the responsibilities we most enjoy, such as unique indoor arrangements and water-considerate residential design. Basically everyone loves plants and wants more of them around, but not everyone has the time or interest in maintaining them. Our life-long obsession with plants has provided us with the skillset to care for many indoor and outdoor plants that can grow in this region, while our design education has allowed us to explore creative ways to arrange plants appropriately for this environment. We love educating people and introducing them to the awesome world of plants.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Monday we would have to get up early to take care of plants while a few restaurants around town are still closed. After working up an appetite climbing ladders to wind vines, we would swing by Roadrunner Coffee for a few specialty espresso drinks and a snack. From there we would be headed to Tohono Chul to experience some local wildlife before the sun gets too high.

Tuesday we have to get up even earlier, but we can look forward to a hike up Sabino Canyon before a quick zip through the residential homes we service near Ventana Canyon and Canyon Ranch. Afterwards, a local beer and some pizza at the joint that always gets us through a busy maintenance day- Arizona Pizza Company. A movie at the Loft would be a quirky end to this typical Tucson Tuesday.

Wednesday we start early with maintenance and then we could spend the rest of the afternoon visiting wineries in Eligin! We love Dos Cabezas and Callaghan but the full tour is in order with a friend in town!
Thursdays are another restaurant maintenance day, so we might end with the Delta Bar and Grill around 4 so we can sit in on their vinyl night and share a discounted bottle of Arizona wine.

Friday would be another day of adventure, starting with the Miniature Time Machine Museum and leading to Tuk Tuk Thia for some Coco Fries and Pattaya cocktails with basil and lychee. With our energy spike we might gather our things and spend the afternoon unwinding by the pool at one of the local resorts.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
AMWUA, SCORE program, Green Things Nursery, Profit First (book), local business fanatics, friends and family

Website: Greensidetucson.com

Instagram: greensidetucson

Facebook: greensidetucson

Yelp: Green Side Tucson

Image Credits
Homes and businesses of some of our clients, but all our own photography