Becky Paxton

Garden Media Group

Account executive

What 3-4 professional and/or personal accomplishments are you most proud of? 

• I am SO proud of my work at Garden Media Group. I work with exceptional clients like Southern Living Plant Collection and Encore Azalea. I’m immensely proud that through our partnership with these brands, we regularly land placements in terrific outlets like Martha Stewart, Better Homes & Gardens, Southern Living and more, securing billions of media impressions for their brands each year. 
• Being chosen as a Longwood Fellow at Longwood Gardens remains one of my proudest accomplishments and fondest memories. It was there that I first studied design thinking and action learning, two concepts that have profoundly shaped my work in the garden industry. 
• I have studied the Japanese language since a stint as an exchange student in high school. Last year, I dove back into my textbooks and passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, and that’s something I’m extremely proud of. Studying grammar in your free time isn’t easy! 

What led you to work in the horticulture industry? 

• I come from generations of professional musicians, so the horticulture industry was my wild teenage rebellion-turned-life-long career. I knew from childhood that being in the garden was what I wanted to do with my life, so I walked into my local botanical garden at the age of eleven and asked for a job.
• Obviously, I was a LITTLE too young at that point, but they let me volunteer for a few years and at fifteen, it became my very first job. I later went on to work for that institution for many years and it remains one of my favorite places to visit and reconnect with the beauty of nature.
• I should note that when I went to college, my dad called and told me when I was ready to get serious about my life, that he’d send me a guitar.

What’s the best thing about your job? 

• Co-workers

Describe to a 6-year-old what you do in life? 

• I make plants famous and take their picture. 

What are your favorite hobbies?

• Reading
• Writing
• Building tiny model robots

When you’re not working, what are two to three things we could find you doing? 

• Buying fancy books (I swear I’ll read them someday!)
• Fussing over my little model robots
• Cooking

Do you have any unusual talents, or can you tell us something interesting about yourself that other people may be surprised to find out? 

• During the recession, I studied at a very austere vegan culinary school deep in the backwoods of New England. I never had the discipline or creativity to work in a professional kitchen, but I remain extremely good at washing dishes and I can quickly rattle off at least ten different ways to cook burdock root. 

One thing you can’t live without? 

• Vinegar. I put it on all of my food. I clean with it. There’s nothing it can’t do. 

What are you (un)secretly good at? 

• Writing

What are your top three bucket list items? 

• Go to Shanghai
• Publish a book
• Take a hot air balloon ride

You’re buying a vacation package to anywhere in the world without a budget, where are you going? 

• China for the gardens, hiking, architecture and food!