Women of Beet & Yarrow #2: Britt Hill

Women of Beet & Yarrow #2: Britt Hill

In March, during Women’s History Month, we started spotlighting the amazing ladies who grace the team at Beet & Yarrow. This is an ongoing series that offers curiosity and attention to the daily practices and rituals of the women we spend our days with here in the shop.

This month, we have an interview with Britt Hill. Britt has been at Beet & Yarrow for four, bloom-filled years, and is an avid home gardener. 

 

What is your favorite flower? 

My plant and flower preference changes every day—but banksia proteas (or bearded iris) are some go-to favorites. And I can’t design without Italian ruscus. It’s the best green. 

 

Your work at B&Y is tactile, and so is working in a home garden. Can you explain why this kind of work is important to you? Are they complementary to each other?

I love tactile work. I didn’t realize I needed it so much in my career until I started working here. But it’s important to me because working on the landscaping at my home helps me feel like I’m helping the earth out, even if it’s just a little bit. Focusing on native plants, supporting the bugs and bees, giving my neighbors something more interesting and thoughtful to look at than just a lawn. I use a lot of the same design principles of flower arrangement that I use when landscaping, like grouping and color blocking, balancing shapes and sizes, and lots of textures. There’s the added challenge of trying to keep everything alive—something I don’t have to think about with flower arrangements. 

It helps me appreciate how much work and resources go into growing both flowers and food. It makes me think twice about throwing away older flowers, or food when I’m at home. 

 

How did you start taking care of plants and gardening at home? What are some visual inspirations you've seen? 

I enjoyed having houseplants, but I only started gardening once my partner and I bought a house two years ago. Having an outdoor space is a game changer. I have raised beds and pots for my gardens. And I’m also redoing the rest of the yard to look like what I’m calling a “prairie meadow”—I want lots of grasses with flowers mixed in. There’s so much space to plant, but it’s also just a nice place to spend time and keep a close eye on everything. I spend hours just wandering around, staring at my plants. Some of my neighbors must think I’m crazy.  

The best garden inspo ever is @lamusadelasflores on Instagram, and Piet Oudolf is a huge inspiration for my landscape. I get my plants from Floret Seeds, Schreiner’s Iris Garden, High Country Gardens, and High Plains Environmental Center in Loveland. 

 

What's your favorite part of the gardening process? 

I love being outside and the manual labor factor. It feels good to get dirty. It’s fulfilling to see something grow. Eating food that you grew yourself (from seed!) feels amazing.

I also enjoy the design aspect of it—and making my home look good. I’ve been reading about the “new perennialists” ideas and how they focus on creating naturalized landscapes that become more wild and sustainable over time. 

Stay tuned for our next Women of B & Y interview, coming soon.

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