The Gardener's Workshop, Newport News

In 1998, Lisa Ziegler’s passion for home gardening inspired her to found her own small business, staking claim to an acre of farmland where she began growing field-cut flowers destined for Virginia’s vacant vases. Nearly 15 years later, Lisa’s single acre nearly quadrupled with the blossoming success of The Gardener’s Workshop, where she continues to woo flowers into maturity using completely organic and sustainable practices.

Her all-female team, which proudly shares its gardening wisdom with patrons, cuts 8,000–10,000 stems during each week of growing season, which yields a kaleidoscopic array of lilies, sunflowers, snapdragons, and ready-to-adopt Cabbage Patch Kids. The Gardener’s Workshop supplies flowers to local farmers’ markets through a subscription service and via a garden-share program, all powered by each lady’s powerful green thumbs and John Deere equipment.