Urban Earth is a welcoming, community-minded resource for plants and garden materials and garden design, creation and management. Our mission is to enhance the natural beauty, livability and resilience of our clients’ gardens, and in doing so, enhance our wider community. Located in Midtown Memphis’ Flicker Street Art District, Urban Earth also offers educational seminars and workshops.
About Urban Earth
The company began under the ownership of Greg Touliatos & Associates—a longtime member of the Memphis horticultural community. In March 2019, Leslie and Brett Norman bought the company. Having grown up on a farm, Brett enjoys being back in the greenhouse after a successful business career.
In addition to continuing a tradition of excellence in garden design and management, the Normans are excited to bring an increased focus on serving the design & beautification needs for the “built” environment such as condos, patios, and porches. As the Memphis area grows and becomes denser, container gardens and houseplants are becoming more popular. With that in mind, Urban Earth now has increased inventories of decorative plants, planters, fountains and indoor plants.
Let’s stay connected! @UrbanEarthMem
Brett Norman
Owner
Brett grew up on a produce and tobacco farm in Middle Tennessee but has lived in Memphis for 25 years. After graduating from Rhodes College, he worked at a Texas landscape design firm, where he fell in love with plants and gardens. He has learned a lot about the horticultural industry through his professional endeavors, including founding an Ag-Tech company, and also through trial and error in his own gardens. When he’s not at work, he enjoys walking his dog and watching his kids play soccer and lacrosse.
Lisa Post Lawhead
Nursery & Market Manager
Lisa is a lifelong Memphian with 20+ years’ experience in horticulture. She thoughtfully curates the plant inventory and has a keen eye for merchandising and designing custom containers. She also has a strong desire to continue the educational element offered at Urban Earth. While balancing work and home life with two daughters, Lisa is always looking for the highest-quality plant material for customers.
Mark Comes
Gardens Designer
Mark was born in Memphis and has lived most of his life here. He started working at Greg Touliatos & Associates, Inc. (now Urban Earth) in 2001 and enjoys the diverse plant inventory and great staff. Previously, Mark worked at Dan West Garden Center and at several landscape firms (including his own) and as a horticulturist at Memorial Park Cemetery. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family.
Steven Killebrew
Gardens Designer
Steven grew up in Honolulu, San Antonio and Memphis and later lived in Pensacola. In 2010, he returned to Memphis and began working at Urban Earth. He enjoys getting to know a diverse group of customers and helping them craft their individual gardens. Steven has a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from Mississippi State University. In his spare time, he likes reading, container gardening, collecting unusual plants, going to estate sales, and taking road trips with his three Dachshunds.
Shaeffer Upton
Gardens Coordinator
Born and raised in Greenwood, Mississippi, Shaeffer has lived most of her life in Memphis and the Horseshoe Lake area. She says gardening is in her blood, as her mother and grandmothers were avid gardeners. Shaeffer worked in the fitness industry before moving to retail and landscaping at a family-owned garden center in North Carolina. In 2019, she moved back to Memphis and began working at Urban Earth. In her spare time, she enjoys going to movies, concerts and dinner with family and friends.
Martha Garriott
Sales Associate
Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Martha and her family moved to Memphis when she was 9. Now a master gardener, she began gardening with her grandmother at age 4. Martha started working at Urban Earth in 2016 after attending a seminar on butterflies and pollinators at the nursery. Previously, she worked as a designer at Pugh’s Florist. Her poodle, Bee, comes to work with her and is a friendly addition the shop. In her spare time, Martha likes bicycling, gardening, nature photography, and listening to concerts at the Levitt Shell.
Urban Earth Gardens
We believe that gardening is a craft—one that we’ve honed. Let us partner with you to create tranquil indoor and outdoor spaces. Gardens create living, memorable experiences: enjoying a cup of coffee on a back patio, nurturing homegrown vegetables in a community garden, hosting a garden party inside an apartment. It’s all about creating an atmosphere that evokes an emotional response within you.
Whether you have an expansive yard east of town or a shared garden atop a downtown high-rise, Urban Earth will help you to select plant and building materials that make your space worth celebrating. We source most of our garden and plant materials from vendors in West Tennessee and North Mississippi. By working with local growers, we are able to offer materials acclimated to our environment and help to improve the whole community.
With the varied Memphis landscape in mind, Urban Earth provides garden design services that create the calming, livable spaces you long for.
Come by Urban Earth soon and let us help you reimagine your space with expert garden design direction.
Urban Earth
Nursery & Market
Urban Earth sits on 1.4 acres and houses a 6,212-square-foot retail market. Offering hand-selected planters, gardening tools, decor, gifts and more, our market is a great place to get inspired about the places you call home. We have four greenhouses with the region’s best variety of plants for all seasons. Come to shop, to clear your head, and to leave energized.
A lot of thought goes into the plants and garden products we curate for our Nursery & Market. Our potting artists are constantly creating beautiful combinations for our clients, and you can watch them in action as you walk into the nursery. Pick up these original creations during your visit, or have us deliver them to your home.
Don’t have a garden but want to stage one? We partner with other “experience creators” like wedding photographers and event coordinators to elevate their services. Lifestyle bloggers also use our educational facilities to host workshops like still-life photography and home decoration. Urban Earth is all for supporting other like-minded companies and sharing natural beauty within our community.
Hope you pay us a visit soon. Can’t wait to meet you and learn about your garden.
Urban Earth also offers customized Garden and Lawn Management Programs.
Contact us to learn more.
Contact Urban Earth
Our Location
80 Flicker Street
Memphis, TN 38104
Hours
Monday, Closed
Tuesday–Friday,10am – 5pm
Saturday, 9am – 5pm
Sunday, 1-4pm (Open Seasonally)
Let’s talk!
info@urbanearthmemphis.com
901.323.0031
@UrbanEarthMem
© 2019 Urban Earth