Q. What is your name?

A. Karen Sullivan-Atkins

Q. What is the name of your business?

A. Proper Gardens

Q. What is your business address?

A. 119 Robin Trail, New Brighton, PA, 15066

Q. What is your phone number(s)?

A. I can be reached at either 724-891-4568 or 724-630-4669.

Q. What is your e-mail address?

A. karen@propergardendesigns.com

Q. What PA communities have you done work in?

A. New Brighton, Beaver, Burgettstown, Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair, Sewickley, Harmony, Fox Chapel, Mt. Washington, and Brentwood.

Q. What type of designations/memberships/titles/education/experience do you have?

A. Master Gardener, Bachelor of Business, Member Historic Gardens Foundation, Garden on display at the Merrick Art Gallery on the National Register of Historic Places, Member Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery Association, Featured designer in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette 2006, and Member Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.

Q. What types of awards have you won?

A. Three Gardens Featured in the Landmark Gardens Tour for the Western Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and I have a Garden Featured in the Beaver Garden Tour.

Q. What Pennsylvania Counties have you done work in?

A. Beaver, Butler, and Allegheny.

Q. Which PA neighborhoods have you done work in or have interest in doing?

A. Fox Chapel, Sewickley, Shadyside, Mexican War Streets, Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair, Beaver, Cranberry, Seven Fields, Manchester, Squirrel Hill, and Mt. Washington.

Q. Which Pennsylvania metropolitan area do you serve?

A. Pittsburgh.

Q. Which nursery have you used in the past or prefer using?

A. Lake Forest Gardens, Inc., 737 Chapel Drive, Fombell, PA 16123.

Q. Where did you grow up?

A. 4980 Meadowpark Drive, Whitehall, PA 15236

Q. What areas have you lived in and/or worked in the past?

A. San Diego, CA, Belmont Shore, CA, London, England, St. Joseph, Michigan, New Brighton, PA

Q. Describe your current business residence.

A. I live in a 157 year old farm house on eleven acres in New Brighton, PA.

Q. Which elementary school did you attend?

A. Skyline Elementary (Baldwin Whitehall School District)

Q. Which Middle School did you attend?

A. Harrison Middle School (Baldwin Whitehall School District)

Q. Which High School did you attend and when did you graduate?

A. Baldwin High School - Class of 1984 (Baldwin Whitehall School District)

Q. Which College did you attend and when did you graduate?

A. Westminster College. I graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1988.

Q. What is your proudest business achievement?

A. Having three gardens selected for the Western Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Landmark Gardens Tour in 2006

Q. What is your proudest personal achievement?

A. Every day - watching the children growing up!

Q. What is your favorite color?

A. Chartreuse.

Q. What motivates you in the gardening business?

A. Changing Clients Lives, because it isn't "how it looks," it's HOW YOU LIVE.

Q. Tell us about your very first clients - go into detail (dates/neighborhood/why they chose you)

A. Claire Schaming in Harmony PA. Claire chose to work with me because she knew that I was uniquely qualified to design and install a period-appropriate garden for her Williamsburg style Federal Farmhouse. She hired me in 2005 to create a pleasure garden, in 2006 to create knot gardens and train apple trees into espaliers. Next year we're planning to install an allee and a hydrangea walk between the house and one of her many outbuildings.

Q. Tell us about your last client appointment (details)

A. We installed a formal parterre in Upper St. Claire but we were interrupted half- way through with a giant rain storm! We are returning tomorrow to finish the job now that the ground is dry enough to work!

Q. Tell us about your last client that chose you (details)

A. Linda Spencer owns two dance studios - one in Robinson and one in Upper St. Clair. Having returned from a trip to Connecticut to see the gardens at Bunny William's estate, she wanted me to design and install a formal parterre. We were able to add dry-stacked stone walls and regrade the property to create a functional dining patio - all within the original budget. Linda will enjoy creating the designs for the interior plantings but needed help with the overall structure and architecture of the garden, plus the grading.

Q. Why should someone choose you to help them create the gardenscape of their dreams?

A. My background and experience uniquely qualify me to design and install period-appropriate gardens in harmony with a home's architecture. We incorporate the owners wishes, tastes, and preferences to translate their personality (usually evident in the interior of the home) to the exterior of the home. We create outdoor rooms that change the way they live, by extending their living space. Our gardens are structure heavy, so that they feel like gardens in January as well as June. We install mature plants and aged materials, so that the gardens look as though they have always been there on the the day we leave. We coordinate plantings for a constant succession of bloom. Something is always coming up as another one is fading.

Q. How long have you been in business and what professional organizations do you belong to?

A. 4 years - I belong to the following organizations/associations: Historic Gardens Foundation, Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, Penn State Master Gardeners, and the Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery Association

Q. How do you recommend/arrive at an estimate for your clients?

A. I do not estimate a project unless I have been hired to design a garden for at least one aspect of a house (front, side, or back.) I charge $500 for a design. Clients normally give me a budget. I draw the best garden possible for the site - structurally, and then start adding plants. I add the material cost and the labor cost and then judge what it would take for me to do the job. We can usually install a garden for about twice the cost of a homeowner doing it himself.

Q. What types of things separate you from your competition?

A. "After Care!" I stay in touch with the garden owner after installation. I normally mail an album containing before, during, and after photos of our project. I install bulbs the following Fall (since good gardens usually need lots of bulbs!) I send email reminders or call to remind them to water during really dry spells, etc. I am interested in the clients and their gardens for the long term.

Q. How can you help a client possibly save money?

A. By properly designing the structure of each garden, I can save clients from making costly mistakes. I efficiently manage men on machines, coordinate the buying and delivery of plant materials, and suggest various options to help them to maximize their vision as well as possible within their budgets.

Q. Do you provide your buyers with any information regarding references?

A. I have references available under a testimonials section on my website and can always offer phone numbers of previous clients with similar challenges if they ask. I don't want to drive previous clients crazy unless I know somebody is serious though! I also take potential clients to gardens I've installed, with client permission.

Q. What type(s) of advertising do you do for your business?

A. I have had a booth at the Pittsburgh Home and Garden show each year and plan to continue to do that. I am in booth #777 at the back of the bottom floor in the Convention Center. I mail letters directly to owners of houses in Fox Chapel and Sewickley that I would love to adorn! I display a sign whenever we're working in a neighborhood. I need a truck sign! I plan to participate in the "Old House Fair," at the Priory in Pittsburgh this Fall.

Q. Do you pre-qualify your clients?

A. I do not visit a site unless the owner has agree to purchase at least a plan for one aspect of the house ($500 for the front, back, or side.)

Q. Are you a full or part time service provider?

A. Full Time

Q. What Are the Top Three Things That Separate You From Your Competition?

A.

1. I am an Exterior Decorator who installs true gardens rather than naturalistic landscapes.
2. My interest in the clients and their gardens is long term.
3. My installations are all completely different, since the design is driven by the period of the house, the challenges of the grade of the site, and the unique tastes and preferences of each owner.

Q. Do you offer any sort of guarantee?

A. I don't have any unhappy clients. I replace plants that do not thrive for one year unless it is apparent that they haven't been watered. But I stay on everyone's tail to make sure that they are watered, so I haven't seen any watering issues on gardens to date.

Q. What is your birth date?

A. January 7, 1967

Q. If you had as much money as Bill Gates (founder of Microsoft), what would you do with it?

A. Design and build gardens, especially public gardens. Save historic gardens that were endangered. Buy a Grand Prix Horse.

Q. What are your favorite hobbies?

A. Dressage, Cooking, and Gardening.

Q. What was the last book that you read and why did you choose it?

A. Succession Planting by Christopher Lloyd - I chose it to increase my knowledge on that very important subject.

Q. What was the last movie that you went to see and why did you choose it?

A. Harry Potter - I was dying to see it with the kids.

Q. Do you belong to or have you contributed to any charities in the past 12 months? (Details)

A. Historic Gardens Foundation - I donate a $50 membership for each garden I create. Bethlehem Haven Women's' Shelter - We have sent $500 this year.
The Humane Society - $150
The United Way - $2500

Q. Are you married? How long have you been married? Where were you married? Where did you go on your honeymoon?

A. We were married at Heinz Chapel in Pittsburgh 13 Years ago. We went to Mt. Hood on our honeymoon.

Q. Do you have any children? What ages are they? Where do they attend school?

A. Henry (9) and Zoe (7). They attend New Brighton Elementary School.

Q. What made you choose horticulture as a career?

A. I was born a caretaker. I choose to care for children, animals and plants.