5 Minutes with Jake Scott

August 2022
5 Minutes With … Jake Scott By Teresa McPherson

Jake Scott is garden center manager at Piedmont Feed & Garden Center.

Jake Scott is garden center manager at Piedmont Feed & Garden Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

What brought you to the garden center world?

After graduating from North Carolina State University, I was a high school agriculture teacher focusing on horticulture and agricultural science. When the opportunity to move back home and become a garden center manager became available, I was ready for a career change.

What do you love about your job?

I love that, in the garden center, no two days are ever the same. I can try to plan and predict how tomorrow will be, but when tomorrow comes, some new challenge or adventure will arise. A customer will challenge me to think more in depth about a landscape design or pest problem they are having, or a plant truck will pull up just as an afternoon storm comes along. I enjoy working with all my staff, and we really make each day fun and exciting.

If you weren’t in this profession, what would you be doing?

If I wasn’t working in the horticulture field, I would love to be a graphic designer working with mixed media.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I enjoy spending time by the pool, with my family or outside gardening with my dog Gabby.

What’s something that few people know about you?

Few people know that I had my own cake business during high school and, afterward, attended culinary school before transferring to NC State.

Favorite plant to grow? Why?

This is such a hard question to answer as a garden center manager, but I must say I love planting and designing with annuals. There is something exciting about being able to change your landscape from season to season.



Teresa McPherson

Teresa McPherson is the managing editor of Lawn & Garden Retailer. Contact her at [email protected].