Women’s History Month Feature
PaSH Magazine is celebrating Women’s History Month with a Q&A style mini-series highlighting women from many different industries making an impact in the world, their communities and for themselves. In this Q&A we will spend time with Donna Letier.
Meet Donna Letier
Donna Letier, co-founder and CEO of the Dallas-based gardening and well-being company, Gardenuity, is working with corporations such as Google, Converse, Amdocs, Frito Lay and many other Fortune 500 companies to help them implement gardening kits into their wellness programs given studies suggesting that having plants in the office enhances stress reduction, mood and workplace perception, and psychological well-being. Gardenuity is a thriving (multi-million dollar) business that’s driving innovation in the health, fitness, and wellness industry.
Fresh out of college, Donna’s first job was at Neiman Marcus in Dallas. After scoring a lunch meeting with Stanley Marcus by calling his secretary, one lesson Donna learned was that “if you create an experience, then you’ll have a repeat customer for life.” Donna had a successful career in retail and beauty, working for well-known companies like Barneys and Borders, before starting her own retail business and then launching Gardenuity when she was over 50.
Gardenuity employs adults with special needs on a seasonal basis, and Donna has a daughter that falls into that category. The company caught the attention of the Hunt family (which owns the KC Chiefs), Bonnie Plants (which is part of Scott’s Miracle Grow), and many other investors. What started as a passion project has turned into a movement, proving that a little greenery can go a long way in transforming workplace wellness.
Since employers work with major health insurance companies like Cigna and Oxford to use “wellness dollars,” which may also go to other stress relievers like breathing apps and Peloton memberships, the cost of the gardening kits is free to employees. Donna has already helped with over five million harvests at 500 companies across the U.S. Employees who are granted access to Gardenuity’s kits get to enjoy the fruits of their labor at meals with kits like Taco Toppings Garden Kit with leafy greens + herbs and the Pizza Garden Kit with tomato + herb plants.
What inspired you to turn your passion for gardening into a thriving business, and how did your past experiences in retail and beauty shape your approach to leadership?
I didn’t start Gardenuity because I was a Master Gardener. I started it because I love data, retail, trends, and wellness.
My career was built inside strong retail organizations where I learned how to build brands that people feel — brands grounded in the realities of how we actually live and work. I’ve always been fascinated by the intersection of consumer behavior and emotional connection. The most successful brands don’t just sell products; they invite people into a story.
Gardening, to me, was an underserved category. The wellness benefits were extraordinary and research-backed, yet the experience felt intimidating, inconsistent, or inaccessible for modern consumers — especially those living in cities, working long hours, or new to growing. The data showed interest. The trend lines showed demand. But the pathway to success was fragmented.
Gardenuity was built to close that gap.
We approached gardening the way a great retailer approaches any emerging category: remove friction, personalize the experience, design for how people actually live, and support them beyond the initial purchase. Every kit includes what you truly need — curated plants, custom-blended soil, nutrients, guidance — because success builds confidence, and confidence builds participation.
Leadership for me mirrors gardening. You design the environment. You pay attention to signals. You nurture potential. And you trust that when the foundation is strong, growth follows.
2. Gardenuity works with Fortune 500 companies to integrate gardening into wellness programs. Why do you think plants are becoming such a powerful tool for workplace well-being?
I love this question – We are living in an era of constant acceleration — AI, digital overload, performance pressure. Plants slow us down in the most productive way. Nature has a way of nurturing us.
Gardening engages the senses. It invites participation instead of passive consumption. It creates small daily wins. When someone harvests their first basil leaf or sees new growth on their desk plant, it’s tangible progress — something real in a virtual world.
Companies are recognizing that wellness isn’t just about benefits. It’s about behaviors. Gardening creates micro-moments of care, focus, and connection that ripple through culture. It turns “self-care” from a slogan into a practice.
3. How has your perspective on leadership evolved since starting a company later in your career, and what lessons did gardening teach you about cultivating teams and culture?
Starting a company later in life changes how you measure success. When you’re younger, leadership can feel performative — about momentum, scale, proving something. Later in life, it becomes more about alignment. You care less about titles and more about meaning.
My father changed careers later in life, moving from being an oil field marketing director to becoming a priest. Watching that transition shaped me profoundly. It showed me that reinvention is not a risk — it’s an evolution. Leadership is not about clinging to one identity. It’s about listening to where you are being called.
Gardening reinforces that lesson daily. You cannot rush growth. You cannot force timing. You cannot yell at a seed and expect it to sprout faster. What you can do is create the right conditions — healthy soil, consistent light, steady care.
Teams are the same. Culture isn’t built through pressure. It’s built through environment. When people feel supported, resourced, and trusted, they grow into their potential. When the “soil” of an organization is healthy — clear values, shared purpose, empathy — performance becomes sustainable rather than extractive.
Starting later also gives you perspective. You understand seasons. You recognize that dormancy is not failure. You trust that growth compounds over time.
Leadership, like gardening, is less about control and more about cultivation.
And perhaps the most important lesson: growth is sacred work. Whether you are tending plants, people, or purpose, the act of nurturing something beyond yourself changes you first.
Women are increasingly turning to gardening as a wellness practice. Why do you think this trend is resonating so strongly among female leaders?
Women leaders carry extraordinary responsibility — professionally and personally. Gardening offers something rare: a space where there is no performance metric.
You plant. You tend. You wait. You trust. It reconnects women to cycles, to patience, to nourishment. It’s empowering to grow your own food, your own herbs, your own beauty. There’s also something powerful about participating in your well-being rather than outsourcing it. Gardening restores agency.
Women leaders carry extraordinary responsibility — professionally and personally. Gardening offers something rare: a space where there is no performance metric.
You plant.
You tend.
You wait.
You trust.
It reconnects women to cycles, to patience, to nourishment. It’s empowering to grow your own food, your own herbs, your own beauty. There’s also something powerful about participating in your well-being rather than outsourcing it. Gardening restores agency. It reminds us that growth is not something to chase — it’s something to cultivate.
In a world that constantly asks women to measure more, optimize more, and achieve more, gardening quietly invites a different rhythm: measure less. Tend more. Grow what matters.
How do you see gardening helping employees combat modern workplace challenges, including burnout, stress, and even the pressures of AI-driven environments?
Burnout often stems from disconnection — from our bodies, from nature, and from visible progress.
In AI-driven environments especially, work can feel abstract. You move data. You manage systems. You optimize outputs. But you rarely see something tangible grow because of your care.
Gardening restores that connection.
There is meaningful research behind this. Studies from universities such as Texas A&M and the University of Exeter have shown that exposure to plants in workplace settings can reduce stress, improve concentration, and increase productivity. The American Psychological Association has also reported that contact with nature lowers cortisol levels and supports emotional regulation. Even brief interaction with greenery has been linked to improved mood and cognitive performance.
But beyond the research, we see it in real stories.
Missy Payne, a Dallas-based professional who participated in one of our garden programs, shared something that stayed with me:
“I thought the garden was just going to be a nice addition to my patio. What I didn’t expect was how it would change my mindset. Every morning, I step outside, water my plants, and look for new growth. It sounds simple, but it shifted me into gratitude. Before emails, before deadlines — I’m reminded that something is growing because I showed up. That small ritual changed how I approach my entire day.”
That shift — from urgency to gratitude — is powerful.
Gardening introduces a rhythm that counters constant acceleration. It requires presence. It rewards consistency. It invites stepping away from screens and into sensory engagement.
In a workplace increasingly defined by artificial intelligence, gardening reconnects us to natural intelligence — patience, observation, care, and trust.
And that balance may be one of the most meaningful tools organizations can offer in supporting sustainable well-being.
Gardenuity employs adults with special needs. How does integrating inclusivity and social responsibility into your business impact both your team and your mission?
Inclusivity isn’t a program at Gardenuity. It’s personal.
My daughter, Jillian, was born with special needs. From the beginning, she taught our family something profound: contribution doesn’t look the same for everyone — and that’s not a limitation. It’s a gift.
Jillian’s special ability is joy. She has an extraordinary capacity to make people feel seen and happy simply by being herself. She reminds us daily that presence matters more than perfection.
When we built Gardenuity, we knew accessibility had to be foundational. If gardening truly supports wellness, then it should be available to everyone — regardless of physical ability, experience, or traditional career path.
Employing adults with special needs strengthens our culture in ways that go beyond social responsibility. It shapes how we design products. It influences how we communicate. It reminds our team that patience, clarity, and empathy are strengths, not weaknesses.
Inclusion expands perspective. And expanded perspective builds better businesses.
Our mission has always been to make gardening accessible. But at a deeper level, it’s about creating environments where people can grow — in confidence, in contribution, in joy.
Jillian has shown me that growth is not measured by speed or scale. It’s measured by impact.
And when you build a company with that understanding, culture becomes something you cultivate with intention — just like a garden.
What are some surprising ways you’ve seen gardening change corporate culture, employee morale, or team collaboration?
The most surprising shift we see is gratitude.
In corporate environments, conversations often revolve around performance, deliverables, and what’s next. Gardening subtly changes that dialogue. It introduces appreciation — for progress, for patience, for contribution.
When teams plant together, something interesting happens. Titles soften. Hierarchies fade. A senior executive and a new hire both ask, “Am I watering this correctly?” Growth becomes shared rather than competitive.
Over time, that shared experience turns into gratitude.
We’ve seen teams begin meetings by sharing a quick garden update — a new bloom, a first harvest, a plant that survived a rough week. It sounds small, but those moments shift tone. They create space to acknowledge effort and celebrate incremental growth.
There is also neuroscience behind this. Research from institutions including UCLA and UC Davis has shown that practicing gratitude activates areas of the brain associated with dopamine and serotonin — the same neurotransmitters linked to motivation and well-being. Gratitude literally rewires attention, helping individuals shift from threat-focused thinking to opportunity-focused awareness.
One HR leader told us, “The gardens gave our team something positive to notice. Instead of only talking about metrics, people started recognizing each other’s consistency and care — the same qualities that keep plants alive.”
When employees tend something living, they begin to notice growth — not just in plants, but in each other. In a workplace culture often defined by urgency and output, gardening introduces appreciation. And appreciation builds morale in a way that incentives alone never can.
For aspiring women entrepreneurs, what advice would you give about starting a business later in life and creating a meaningful impact in a growing industry like wellness?
There is no expiration date on building something meaningful. Experience is an asset. Pattern recognition is an asset. Relationships are assets. Starting later often means you bring depth instead of urgency.
My advice is simple: start where you feel energy. Solve a real problem. Build with intention. But most importantly — just start. You do not need every answer. You do not need perfect timing. Momentum creates clarity. Growth follows action.
And gather your tribe. Surround yourself with people who will remind you who you are on the days you forget. There will be moments when confidence wavers — that’s part of building anything real. Having people who believe in you, who push you forward when you hesitate, is not optional. It’s essential.
Growth compounds over time. So does courage. Just start. Then tend it — and the right people will grow alongside you.
Thank you for reading the fifth installment of the Women’s History Month Features. Come back each day to read a new inspiring story, centering women.
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