Cultivating a passion for horticulture at every node

Welcome to the world of Sayde the Crazy Plant Lady where plants are my thing and spreading the love to all who will listen brings me the most joy!

I am a professionally trained horticulturist with 12 years of public and private horticulture experience. My interest in plants first began in high school through my involvement in FFA, once known as Future Farmers of America. Where my advisor mentored me in working in the greenhouse, being apart of the Floriculture contest team, teaching with Food for American, and my earning my National FFA Degree in 2014.

Entering college at the University of Missouri for Agriculture Education I quickly changed paths to Plant Sciences, with more amazing mentors by my side, after a terrifying performance in a Ruminant Production course. Plants quickly become my focus emphasizing in Horticulture Science and Design. My courses became more aligned with what I enjoyed; Landscape Design, Weed Science, Entomology, Plant Identification, and Introduction Horticulture amongst my favorite. Throughout this time I worked in so many sectors of the green industry. I was a teaching assistant, greenhouse technician, horticulturist at a golf course and amusement park, landscape designer, and a private gardener.

Post graduation I began my 9 years at Yew Dell Botanical Gardens where I started as the Horticultural Apprentice in 2017, transitioned to Garden Manager in 2018, and Garden & Arboretum Manager in 2022. Growing the gardens over the years to include new perennial gardens, seasonal annual displays, seasonal and permanent bulb displays, and a variety of improved garden maintenance systems, from tools to plant records. During this time the garden team also grew from 2 year-long apprentices to 4 full-time garden staff. In this role I was free to explore and learn just about anything my heart desired! Best of all I had access to the best plants; both in the collections and through the nursery!

During this time I have continued falling in love with horticulture through private gardening, building a houseplant collection, establishing my home garden, dabbling briefly with YouTube content creation, joining the Perennial Plant Association board of directors in 2023 and opening my Etsy shop in 2025.

This is the “shortened” story of how Sayde, a girl who hated being in the garden growing up, became the Crazy Plant Lady. Not just overnight, but over years of falling in love with the stories, the people, the places, and the history that makes horticulture so special. And now it’s my turn to help each and everyone of you become the plant person you didn’t know existed!

Welcome to Crazy Plant Lady!