Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Lowery.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started my business in Tallahassee on August 21, 2021. I needed to control my time and my income. I needed a way to afford to litigate against my daughter relocating to St. Augustine. I didn’t have time to get fancy with a brand. I needed to move fast so I named my company Lowery’s Gardening & Woodworks. I changed it to Lowery’s Outdoor Services in November of 2022 when I formed my LLC. I can’t remember when I officially started doing business as Moonflower Outdoor Design, but it was around the beginning of 2024.
August of 2021 – March 2022 held some of the darkest and most challenging times of my life. But I learned a lot about myself.
I couldn’t stop the relocation. A 15 year reality in Tallahassee had come to an abrupt halt and began to completely unravel so that I could follow my daughter to Saint Augustine, arrive with enough time to establish myself, get a house near hers, and have her room set up before she made the move.
I landed in St. Johns County in March, 2022. I bounced around state parks, Walmart parking lots, occasional airbnbs, and then a friend’s floor for a few weeks. In April, I secured a project that was big enough to help me get a lease. I moved in on May 5, 2022. My daughter arrived the end of May after finishing her 7th grade year.
I’ve been doing my best to piece things together ever since. My portfolio is like a personal diary of my journey. My gardens will always remind me of who I was when I was making them – the things I had on my mind and what I was healing from, etc.
The moonflower (ipomoea alba) is a Florida native, night-flowering, fragrant vine. It symbolizes mystery and finding beauty in the darkness. I discovered its meaning in the greenhouse at Liberty Landscape in World Golf. I found it’s symbolism synchronous to my experience, so that’s why I chose the name.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been a smooth road at all. Many fears have come to the surface. Every project has its challenges and new things to learn. I’ve learned many lessons the hard way.
One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned is to always have more than one design conversation going. The most challenging thing I’ve ever had to overcome in my business is to have to go out and find work after something I thought was certain fell through.
I’ve learned that the best time to get over the fear of going door-to-door is when you’re feeling defeated emotionally, creatively burnt-out, have nothing in the pipeline, and broke with rent coming due in 3 days.
This happened frequently when I was first getting started. I eventually came to embrace it. I’d change up my flyer, work on my pitch, listen to the birds, identify plants and build my knowledge base, and study well-designed places to develop my own style, etc.
During one of these times, I was feeling especially unmotivated. I went to the library to print out flyers and chose the Uptown neighborhood in downtown St. Augustine to do my prospecting. I was feeling a lot of hard emotions as I walked through the neighborhood that day when I noticed a thought come to my mind…”What can I say to someone that will help them feel the opposite of how I feel now?” As I walked, I started asking people, “Are you an artist?”. If they said yes, I told them, “I hope you never stop creating because your art is going to impact people in positive ways.”
I met two people that day. I’ll probably never know whatever happened to the first person, but the second person told me about his band – a 3-piece indie rock band from Saint Augustine called pocket.knife.dance.party. They had just released their first full-length album, Pretty Killer. Their music is incredible and I can absolutely see them going on to do big things. They are one of my favorite bands to this day.
I’ve built two projects in Uptown so far. A backyard garden redesign with a custom wooden gate for a house built in 1905, and a front yard native meadow with a water feature built from the home’s original chimney flue from when it was built in back in 1865.
I’ve always faced logistical challenges since I don’t have a truck and trailer yet. I started out with a 2002 jeep wrangler pulling a small utility trailer with a gate. It died in April 2025. I’m making a Honda CR-V work for the time being. It’s helping me develop problem solving skills and strategic, out-of-the-box ways of thinking.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in designing for mood in outdoor spaces.
I guide my clients through a discovery process designed to reveal to them how spending more time outside can help them cultivate inner peace, enter creative flow, and cherish the present moment.
I love creating garden rooms and giving them a name and a theme. I believe plants and flowers have consciousness and they carry unique meanings and symbolism. In Victorian times, people would communicate using the language of flowers. I like to embed hidden meanings into my designs in the same way.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do the best you can.
Mantras are powerful. Be intentional in selecting them. Recognize when it’s time to evolve.
Your fears are portals to remembering your authenticity.
Sometimes forgiveness is accepting the apology you know you’ll never receive
Expect nothing. Accept everything.
Live by the 4 agreements.
– Be impeccable with your word
– Don’t take anything personally
– Don’t make assumptions
– Always do your best
Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.
There is no such thing as coincedence
Calibrate your thoughts to perceive failure as opportunities to discover what’s most important to you deep down.
Call 8-1-1 before you dig.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://moonfloweroutdoor.com
- Instagram: @moonfloweroutdoordesign
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moonfloweroutdoordesign/
