Our community garden is as much about community as about gardening. Like-minded people get along well. Everybody brings something to it, and together it is better than one person’s contribution. Our membership is as diverse as the flowers and produce we grow, with people from all walks of life coming together to work in harmony towards a common goal.
At Garner Grows, it’s not “All work and no play”! In addition to all the hard work involved in maintaining the garden, we also engage in regular social gatherings. There’s casual conversation around the firepit after a day spent tending to the garden, as well as more organized and planned events like Potluck Dinners or group Field Trips. When you become a member of Garner Grows, you will grow not just food and flowers, but fellowship as well.
Board Of Directors
Martin Petherbridge
Board Chair
Martin@garnergrows.com
Specialties: Administration, Public Relations
Martin is part of our leadership team who meet regularly to take care of Garner Grows administrative and planning work. He often leads at workdays, so if you need help finding a task suited to your abilities, you can speak with him for guidance.
Martin’s specialty is acting as our public speaker and tackling the red tape and paperwork involved in dealing with town and government guidelines. He was instrumental in helping to represent us when petitioning the Town of Garner to provide our garden with a new plot of land. Without his help, we wouldn’t be enjoying our current home at Thompson Road Park!
Maggie is part of our leadership team who meet regularly to take care of Garner Grows administrative and planning work. She often leads at workdays, so if you need help finding a task suited to your abilities, you can speak with her for guidance.
Her given name is Mary, but she prefers to be called “Maggie”, and she has been with the garden since 2010 when she originally founded it! A self-proclaimed introvert, Maggie says she started the garden as a way to meet new people and it was successful beyond her wildest dreams!
Maggie recently started a business growing flowers and selling cut arrangements (jellyfreshflowers.com), so if you have questions about flowers, she might have your answers!
Maggie Tubillejo
Founder &
Board Secretary
Maggie@garnergrows.com
Specialties: Flowers, Garner Grows History
Pam Bonilla
Board Treasurer
Pam@garnergrows.com
Specialties: Finances, Supplies
Pam is part of our leadership team who meet regularly to take care of Garner Grows administrative and planning work. She often leads at workdays, so if you need help finding a task suited to your abilities, you can speak with her for guidance.
Pam has been a member of the garden since 2013 and quickly took on a leadership role. She is our official treasurer and is also our Procurement Specialist; meaning she has a knack for finding garden supplies cheaper than dirt, or even for free! She also hosts one of our satellite gardens, where she helps to nurture the seedlings that will supply our garden.
Staff
Tammy is part of our leadership team who meet regularly to take care of Garner Grows administrative and planning work. She often leads at workdays, so if you need help finding a task suited to your abilities, you can speak with her for guidance.
Tammy Kennedy has been a member since 2010 and was the first leader after Maggie. The plant geek of the group, she enjoys learning about any and all plants – the odder the better and is happy to share said knowledge if you ask. But, she’s a talker, so you’ve been warned! She also enjoys planning the crop rotations and raising butterflies. She feels the best part of the garden is the family that the members become.
Tammy Kennedy
Chief Executive Officer
Tammy@garnergrows.com
Specialties: Plant Knowledge, Garden Planning
Layla Bonilla
Chief Operating Officer
LaylaBonilla@garnergrows.com
Specialties: Plant Knowledge, Animal Husbandry, Grant Fundraising
Layla is part of our leadership team who meet regularly to take care of Garner Grows administative and planning work. They often lead at workdays, so if you need help finding a task suited to your abilities, you can speak with them for guidance.
A Garner resident born and raised, Layla joined Garner Grows in 2014, and took on their current role in 2019. Their work securing grant funds was critical in funding our relocation to Thompson Road and has continued to benefit the garden since. They care deeply about food waste in our community and during the covid-19 quarantine started a produce delivery program that has since transformed into our weekly produce distribution. They have spent time studying permaculture, natural building, dairy farming, and are always pursuing new methods to test in the garden. They love to geek out about things they are interested in and are passionate about sharing knowledge, so don’t hesitate to strike up a conversation or ask them a question.
Although her family has been part of Garner Grows for more than a decade, Juliette only officially joined in 2022 as our Web Admin. She processes all memberships, sends out all email communications including our weekly newsletter and serves as our new member liaison. She also acts as our unofficial tech support, so if you are having trouble with the chat or email groups, she can assist you. The weekly newsletter we send out each week will come from her, so it’s a good idea to add her email address to your contact list to avoid it getting caught in your spam filter.
Her friends and family call her Jette, and she often jokes that she has a “Jette” black thumb. She is more comfortable with the technical aspects of Garner Grows than with the actual gardening!
Juliette Rouse
Chief Information Officer &
Website Administrator
Juliette@garnergrows.com
Specialties: Tech Support, Member Communications
Jen Heath
Arbiter of Code of Conduct
JenH@garnergrows.com
Specialties: Member Disputes and Arbitration
A native of Canada, Jen has been a member of the garden since 2014 when she moved here from Ohio. Jen is our Arbiter for Code Of Conduct.
In order to facilitate a safe and comfortable environment for our rapidly growing membership, we have drafted a Code of Conduct. If at any time you feel that another member or leader has behaved inappropriately, Jen will act as an impartial (and anonymous if you choose) mediator for the situation.
Advisory Board
Pete Kennedy
Specialties: Metal working, tree climbing, and mushroom foraging
Pete has been a member since 2010, and says he loves the community garden! He grew up a missionary kid, but don’t hold that against him. He likes to hang out with his wife Tammy and their grandkids, make fires, bike, read, cook, climb trees and rocks, hike, kayak and hunt for mushrooms. He like plants because he can cook and eat them and sometimes they’re pretty, too. When he retires he plans to be at the garden all the time!
Rachel French
Specialties: Project Coordination, and Beekeeping
Rachel has been a member of Garner Grows since the garden reopened at Thompson Road Park in 2022. Previously a home gardener, Rachel finds playing in the dirt and pulling weeds to be therapeutic. Her daughter Cami encouraged Rachel to start composting a few years back and now Rachel coordinates part of our community composting program. She is the newest addition to the beekeeping team, and in addition to mentoring under Sarah and George, is taking a beekeeping class facilitated by Wake County Beekeepers Association.
Jessica Jordan
George Reed
Specialties: Beekeeping
Biography Pending
Sarah West
Specialties: Beekeeping
Biography Pending
