News
Utah Business, June, 2006:
“30 Women To Watch“
Kathy Lillywhite – President
Tuscan Garden Works
Just over five years ago, avid gardener Kathy Lillywhite grew frustrated with the Salt Lake City area’s dearth of well-made exterior décor items. Instead of giving up her search for the items she needed, Lillywhite decided to make them herself with the help of her engineer husband, Jim. Word about Lillywhite’s creations soon spread, and neighbors began to approach her about making similar items for them, prompting her to set up a small operation in her garage. “When we were in the garage, we thought, we’ll help our neighbors out and make a little extra pocket money.” Lillywhite says, Demand increased and disregarding the advice of some to stay in the garage, the Lillywhites opened Tuscan Garden works in 2003. Under Lillywhite’s creative direction , the company, which fabricates unique garden structures and other garden-style furnishings, brought in more than $1 million last year.
Small Business Administration (SBA) Success Stories (May/June 2006)
"Tuscan Garden Works"
With the help of an SBA 7(a) loan from Zions Bank, Kathy Lillywhite, master gardener, has opened her new showroom and warehouse in Sandy, Utah. Her new shop features wrought iron garden structures including: gazebos, arbors, benches, trellises and patio planters. Each piece is unique and she can custom design it to fit specific needs.
Seven years ago, Lillywhite needed an arbor 12 feet high and 8 feet wide. She searched high and low and when she came up empty-handed, she turned to her engineer husband for help. Word of the new venture spread and the Lillywhites opened Tuscan Garden Works in 2002.
Since 2002, demand from consumers has changed. Over the last few years, the request for larger and larger structures has taken up much time and space. Since the larger structures took up so much floor space to assemble before delivery, they were kept in a different location for assembly and shuttled back and forth via golf cart. As a result, it was tough to kept track of production. The new and improved location has a wing for interior décor and furnishings.
Tuscan Garden Works has a variety of theme gardens onsite. There is a Zen garden, an English garden and a Southwestern garden. They also have fountains (encountering water recycling), urns, window boxes and patio planters.
Kathy Lillywhite offers classes for her customers about different garden needs. Workshops highlight designing water wise gardens, and potting garden techniques. Kathy has created an elegant shop with a smart efficient approach to gardening. Garden enthusiasts are welcome to see for themselves each lustrous and durable art piece. Each art piece will provide a lifetime of lasting enjoyment.
Sandy Style 2006 Business & Visitor's Guide
Across Sandy there are hundreds of companies, stores restaurants and more that also play key parts in providing exceptional business opportunities, and contribute to the area’s lifestyle. Some are unique one-of-a-kinds that flourish in Sandy beyond the business owner’s dreams.
One of these is Tuscan Garden Works at 9653 S. Sandy Parkway. Started nine years ago by owners Jim and Kathy Lillywhite, the company designs, manufacturers and sells beautiful wrought iron garden arches, gazebos, pergolas, bridges, fences, furniture and more. Each piece is hand-made by master craftsmen in Mexico, with final finishing and assembly at Tuscan Garden Works’ Sandy store. The business was launched in Lillywhite’s home garage after Kathy asked Jim, who is an engineer, to design and build a wrought iron arch for her garden.
Jim obliged, the neighbors saw it and wanted one too, and nothing has been the same since. Jim, with his engineering expertise and flair for design, and Kathy, with her love of gardening and interior design, forged their talents and began making and selling their garden pieces to local nurseries.
From their garage they moved into one retail location and quickly outgrew it. Their new store, which features over 22,000 square feet, is an interior decorator’s dream. In addition to their garden pieces on display, there are fountains, statues, and unique decorative items for the home, both inside and out. During Christmas, the store’s interior is truly a sight to behold.
What Jim and Kathy have created is so special; Tuscan Garden Works was recognized in 2004 as one of Sandy City’s “Businesses of the Year.”
The 56th Annual Spring Home & Garden Festival March 2005
"A Landscape For All Season"
Why settle for a landscape design that relies on plants to put on a brief show? Today, creative garden designers are building gardens that look good in every season, including the snowy months. Creating a “place” regardless of the size of your property is the goal. Making garden rooms not only connects and enhances the indoor space, but creates contemplative spaces which are very satisfying.
Basic interior design principles work with crating exterior rooms as well as interior rooms. Rooms need floors, walls, windows, ceilings, and doors. Adding garden structures, such as gazebos, pavilions and grottos, make instant rooms. Just add pathways and plant material and you have created a “place”.
“That is why Tuscan Garden Works came into being”, says Kathy Lillywhite, owner. “We help landscapers make their job easier.” As an avid gardener, Lillywhite needed structures for her own garden, and unable to find sturdy, durable structures, turned to her engineer husband to help fabricate them for her. That was the beginning of the business.
Views from within the house are also very important. You can enjoy a garden throughout the year simply by creating a view from inside. A fountain, for example, can be centered on a view from a two-story window so that the sound and movement of the water are always in sight.
If the garden is divided into “rooms”, the spaces need to be tied together by using a consistent motif or material such as columns. They could appear at an entrance, and then again, holding up a pergola or gazebo and then repeated in a distant focal point.
Multiple openings and enclosures create a sense of surprise and provide interest. Arbors and archways are perfect structures to connect and lead you from one space to another.
Color in the garden evokes emotion, urns and troughs can be planted with wild color or soft pastels, depending on the feeling you want to invoke. Large and tall plant containers will highlight blooms and bring them closer to eye-level where they can be more easily enjoyed.
For an instant lush and full garden, vines, large-leafed plants and fast growing specimens should be planted in every opening. The lushness creates an instant sense of serenity and timelessness, which is best enjoyed by providing resting places, or vantage points with garden seating. Now any style of garden can be complimented with outdoor types of seating in the form of benches, chairs, rockers, swings, stools, and love seats.
With the combination of creative structures, bridges, pot, planters, seating, pathways, and the right plant material, gardens can create the feel you are looking for all year long.
Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News, Friday, March 4, 2005
"Garden Store Just Keeps On Blooming“
Kathy Lillywhite just wanted an arbor strong enough to hold up her plants. What resulted is one of Sandy’s fastest growing niche businesses.
Tuscan Garden Works, 9160 South Sandy Parkway, began eight years ago as a garden beautification project in Lillywhite’s garage.
“When we started, in the garage, I just needed an arbor,” Lillywhite recalled. “There wasn’t anything available that was sturdy enough to handle big plants.”
So Lillywhite designed a 12-by-8-foot arbor, which her husband engineered. They had it fabricated in iron.
“From there, neighbors wanted garden benches,” Lillywhite said. “We did a gazebo for a friend. Then we started wholesaling to garden shops.”
In 2002, Lillywhite opened Tuscan Garden Works in a small retail space just down the street from its new location. When it was founded, Lillywhite thought Tuscan would be a fun way to hare her love for gardening. It quickly proved more than that, and Tuscan Garden Works became a more-than-full-time occupation.
“A lot of the time, I’m overwhelmed,” Lillywhite laughed. “I’m not used to working six days a week, 12-hour days. I didn’t envision it becoming a business like this. I thought it’d be fun to make a few things now and then.
Early on, Tuscan specialized in outdoor wrought iron landscape accessories: arches, trellises, benches. Now the store offers interior décor as well, including tables, chairs, canopy beds and fireplace screens. Today, Tuscan employs seven people, including garden, floral and interior designers. Revenue ha doubled every year since it opened its first retail shop. Lillywhite and her husband, Jim, a retired engineer, now devote all of their time to managing the company’s growth.
Nancy Mitchell, executive director of the Women’s Business Center at the Salt Lake Chamber, said much of Tuscan’s success stems from Lillywhite herself.
“Kathy Lillywhite has successfully built Tuscan Gardens into a thriving business in Sandy because of who she is: a warm, loving, caring, curious and creative person,” Mitchell said. “Kathy not only creates designs and gardens; she extends her creativity into how she runs her business. The classes she offers are very special and a result of her relationships with and listening to customers and staff. I can’t wait to attend the one on growing orchids.”
Tuscan’s customers include other retailers and contractors, but increasingly the customer base is composed of homeowners.
“Big homes and big lots,” Lillywhite said. “But I wouldn’t limit our clients to that. Yesterday, we had a garden tea with people from all walks of life.”
Looking ahead, Lillywhite said if growth continues, she may bring on managers to help with day-to-day operations. She also won’t rule out opening additional locations.
“We might look at opening another shop in St. George.” She said, a smile in her voice. “Someplace warmer.”
One thing is certain, said Lillywhite, who is 60 this year.
“This wasn’t my plan at all, but I’m enjoying this. Right now, I’m here in the gardens, and everything is spring and butterflies and roses. It’s a pleasant environment, and I have much younger employees who can lift and haul,” she said. “I don’t think I’ll ever not go to work. I think we’ll keep doing something.”
Salt Lake Tribune/Deseret Morning News, Thursday, March 4, 2004
"Structures, Water Elements Add To Landscapes"
As an avid gardener, Kathy Lillywhite wanted to add some structural variety to her own garden. Unable to find study, durable structures, she turned to her engineer husband to help fabricate them for her. That was the beginning of their business. Tuscan Garden Works, one of numerous local companies participating in the Salt Lake Tribune 56th annual Home and Garden Festival, today through March 7.
Basic interior design principles that work with the creation of rooms within your house also apply to “rooms” in a garden. You need a floor, walls, windows, ceiling and door. Garden structures, such as gazebos, pavilions and grottos, make instant rooms. Let a pathway and plant material complete the ambience.
“If the garden is divided into ‘rooms,’ these spaces need to be tied together by using a consistent motif or material such as columns,” says Lillywhite. “That is why Tuscan Garden Works came into being—to provide garden architecture to create a theme in your garden spaces.”
Arbors and archways are perfect structures to connect and lead you from one “room” to another. Multiple openings and enclosures create a sense of surprise and provide needed interest. Large and tall containers will elevate blooms and bring them up to eye level where they can be easily enjoyed. Color in the garden evokes feeling, whether it’s wild color or soft pastels, depending on the emotion you want to establish. For an instant lush and full garden, vines, large-leafed plants and fast-growing specimens should be planted in every opening. The lushness creates an instant sense of serenity and timelessness, which can be best observed from resting places within the garden. Tuscan Garden Works carries more than 60 different types of outdoor seating in the form of benches, chairs, rockers, swings, stools, and loveseats. Many of these will be on display at their booth during the garden festival.