Staff Spotlight: Meet Joey!

Joey's plant journey started in an unexpected place. While recovering from an illness and spending a lot of time indoors, he picked up a few houseplants and that was all it took. Learning to propagate them lit the spark that turned into a full-blown horticulture career.

He got his start at a small retail greenhouse in Greensboro, where houseplants quickly became (and still are!) his favorite category. From there, Joey worked his way through roles as a sales specialist and lead buyer at independent garden centers and landscaping companies. While there, he picked up serious expertise in trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals along the way.

His favorite part of the horticulture world? Digging into new cultivars and plant ID. Fair warning if you run into Joey at a botanical garden, he'll call out the botanical name of a plant before checking the sign to see if he got it right (though he usually does).

Joey's connection to Plantworks actually goes back years to a previous job where his team ordered from us weekly. Fast forward some time, and a text from a former coworker let him know a spot had opened up on our sales team. The rest is history! Joey says the people and culture have made the biggest impression so far, and he's felt welcomed by the sales team from day one. He's currently training on sales with plans to eventually take on some admin responsibilities like updating availability and helping customers navigate online ordering.

Since living in rentals has kept Joey to container-gardening, he’s created a thriving succulent collection on his west facing balcony while continuing to dream about his future landscape. Ask him about his favorites and the list grows fast: