left to right: Linda Grieve, Perennial Gardens, and INLA Board President John Hughes
Ames, Iowa – On February 23, 2019, the Iowa Nursery and Landscape Association (INLA) recognized Linda Grieve, owner of Perennial Gardens in Ankeny, Iowa. INLA honored Grieve at the INLA hosted awards ceremony during the Iowa State University Shade Tree & Short Course in Ames, Iowa.
Grieve graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in psychology, after which she moved to Richland Missouri to teach elementary classes while her husband was serving in Korea for the United States Army. She eventually went back to school herself and earned a master’s degree in Counseling from Drake University. She counseled High school students as well as students at the Polk County Juvenile Home.
In 1996, she started her own perennial bed maintenance company out of their garage and things took off. Her clients wanted more, so she hired James and then Dan to help diversify the company and take on installation and construction – as well as maintenance.
One of the most memorable projects she worked on was the Meredith Publishing test gardens. She has enjoyed watching those gardens and her designs mature and evolve over time.
Greive has strived for continuous learning and involvement for both her and her staff. Early on she gained a lot of knowledge from the Iowa Botanical Center. From there she became involved in the Garden Club of America and became a national representative and in 2017 she chaired the national horticulture conference for the GGA in Omaha, NE with over 240 GCA members attending from across the US.
“She is loved and adored by friends, family and our industry,” says Mark Scheider, Iowa Arboretum Executive Director.
She is the past board president and has stayed involved with INLA through the Annual Day of Service by creating the landscape designs and layout for our last two projects. Her accomplishments also include being the past president of the Iowa Arboretum and helped celebrate the arboretum’s 50th year anniversary with completing a master plan with Confluence Landscape Architects. Grieve has achieved many positive outcomes in her personal life and professional career. She has been a successful business woman, organizational representative, wife, mother & grandmother. She approaches each of these areas with passion and joy. She has done so much in the horticultural world (locally and nationally). Congratulations to Linda Grieves!
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