Growing a Business
Reneé Clermont is known for her garden and landscape designs across the Island. Now her business has a home — and a home and garden store — in Second Nature at Eden.
If you were casually driving by the Eden nursery on State road in Vineyard Haven this past season, you might not have noticed the second sign below Eden that reads “Second Nature Designs.” That’s because, in true Reneé Clermont spirit, it is partially hidden by flowers.
The black-eyed Susans, salvia and hydrangeas create layers of texture, colors and scale — a mere glimpse of the garden and landscaping work Reneé has done for dozens of clients on-Island over the past 20 years with her business, Second Nature Designs.
With an eye towards her own future capacity in gardening (which, Reneé admits, is pretty backbreaking), she has been looking for the past few years for a commercial space to settle into and start a home and garden store. She bought the Eden nursery from Donaroma’s last year, keeping alive key elements of the place’s charm while also infusing her own unique style into it. The result is Second Nature at Eden.
“It’s organized chaos,” says Reneé, laughing in the shade of Boston ferns and hanging baskets, wind chimes tinkling behind her voice. Around the corner her manager Brandie Lewis helps a homeowner pick out plants for her window boxes, stopping Reneé to ask how much bigger a certain plant will grow.
The pair worked together to set up the nursery in March, a thriving place of plants for home gardeners, landscapers and the more-than-occasional wanderer. They work directly with customers, pulling plants from their stock of Proven Winners™, Donaroma’s and native plants to help each envision a thriving garden or window box from the parking lot of the nursery.
Reneé (right) relies on experienced nursery manager Brandie Lewis (left) to make sure customer service is a priority.
Reneé (right) relies on experienced nursery manager Brandie Lewis (left) to make sure customer service is a priority.
“I’m honing in on what’s lacking on the Island — customer service and attention,” Reneé says. “It’s what people look for. They want to know about the plants, they want to know what goes with what. I’m hoping that that’s what my name and my business has brought to this space.”
Her landscape design business includes plant-shopping trips with her clients, which she now conducts at her own nursery. She still uses plants from other nurseries, like Donaroma’s, who have the capacity to handle her landscaping business’s high demand for plants that she does not have.
“They’re my allies for my whole business plan,” she says. Instead of competitors, they work alongside each other: Donaroma’s is where Reneé got her professional start in gardening. Brandie is another reminder of Eden’s Donaroma’s era, having worked at the nursery 10 years before it became Reneé’s.
“Reneé has a great eye,” says Brandie. “She and I have the same vision of how we want this place to be — organized and clean.”
And their strengths complement each other. Brandie is the go-to for all things on pollinators, having raised monarchs in her butterfly tent for many years. The greenhouse in the back is filled with lettuce and herb plugs Brandie started from seed. From Reneé, Brandie says she’s learned how to talk to and teach customers, as well as a huge amount about plants.
“Those are the people I want here, the people who love plants and love learning about them,” Reneé says. “When they ask questions, it’s like teaching a third grader about something that fascinates them. That brings me a real sense of accomplishment.”
Plenty of ways to spruce up the garden with fall color.
Plenty of ways to spruce up the garden with fall color.
Reneé brought a native plants section to the nursery, including information about the types of pollinators each one attracts. She’s also brought a HomeGoods-inspired shop to the shed on the property, giving it a catchy name: the She Shed. Inside the shed, she sells faux flowers, vases, antiques and seeds.
“You know how guys have their man cave? The She Shed is similar for women,” Reneé says. “There’s plants and it’s relaxing, and it smells like cinnamon and apples.”
In the future, Reneé says she hopes to make the She Shed feel more personal and local, preserving a gardening sanctuary vibe while stocking unique products. To do that, Reneé has already started to bring in items from local businesses, from Cackleberry Farm’s vegetables to Pilot Hill Farm’s cut flowers, Nisa Mars’s paintings and Barbara Reynolds’s photography.
In addition to knowing her vendors, Reneé knows her clients. When a branch from the resident peach tree in the backyard tumbled to the ground, bringing with it dozens of peaches, Reneé passed them out to customers in her store. Many customers are also people who’ve stopped in at Eden for years and have worked with Brandie to fill their cars with plants.
“The Eden name is nostalgic,” Reneé says. “People know that they can come here and get unique things, unique plants.”
Once her season ends mid-October, Reneé will shut down the nursery for the winter. The winter months are reserved for garden design and planning, ordering plants, preparing for Christmas in Edgartown and taking a vacation with her son.
Soon enough it will be time for the second season, which Reneé and Brandie will go into with better expectations of the flow of the summer. They’re also working on new ideas to draw more people to the location.
“Plants make people happy,” Reneé says. “And I love this place. Just like a garden, I kind of want to evolve it, and keep it new and fresh and beautiful.”
Haley Sandlow is a journalist from Chicago, Ill. She is currently covering business, health and agriculture in Charlottesville, Va.
Reneé has created a welcoming new space she calls the She Shed, stocked with decorative home and garden items.
Reneé has created a welcoming new space she calls the She Shed, stocked with decorative home and garden items.
Second Nature at Eden will be open until mid-October before their off-season break.
Add new comment