Marcia Weber

It’s only fitting that Marcia Weber, owner of the decades-old Marcia Weber Gardens to Love, divides her time among three houses—one in Ansley Park, another in Highlands, North Carolina, and the third in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The gardening guru is loathe to sit back and twiddle her green thumbs.

“I’ve renovated my garden in San Miguel more than once,” Weber admits. “I’m very production-oriented, and enjoy getting things done wherever I go.” Perhaps that’s why Weber claims her greatest relaxation comes when she’s at home tending to her vegetable garden, where, among other things, she’s harvested more than six varieties of potatoes—a tribute to her grandfather’s love of the land.

In fact, it was the sheer joy her grandparents derived from planting flower and vegetable gardens on the family’s farm in Noxubee, Mississippi, that played such an influential role in cultivating her own knack for botany and horticulture from an early age. “As a girl, I was never inside. I was always outside on the farm, where I would strike out and walk to the back of the property and try to get lost,” she says. 

The open, rolling prairie of Mississippi, described by Weber as “that landscape where the sky meets the Earth on the horizon,” was also instrumental in establishing an appreciation for natural beauty that gave her the leap of faith she needed to go from manager of greenhouse and nursery operations—a title she held at her first job out of college—directly to founding her own business, a 30-year-old firm that now boasts more than 15 employees.

“I feel very fortunate to know what I’m good at, to know why I’m on this earth, to know what pleases me,” Weber says. And nowhere is it more evident that gardening is in her DNA than through her signature Marcia Weber Gardens to Love landscapes, which are designed to act as natural extensions of a home’s architectural and interior beauty.

It’s thoughtful planning for growth—not unlike interior design—that sets her discerning eye apart from the pack, resulting in environments that not only appeal to all five of the senses but also show an appreciation for natural proclivities. 

My personal garden reflects a penchant for…controlled chaos. I like to see the heavy hand of man fighting it out with the strong will of nature.
What most people don’t know about me is…I’m an open book. They know all about me and all my stories.
The things I can’t live without are…gardening gloves, hand pruners, pencils and paper. I even take these things with me when I travel. It gives me comfort to know that they are with me in case I get stranded in a foreign place and need to earn a living. And I never leave the house without wearing lipstick.
My favorite place for quiet contemplation is…on a long walk. I get all my best thinking done while walking. I often take a note pad and pencil with me to jot down thoughts. Contemplation is best if the walk is in a beautiful place and the weather is lovely.
The place I love to travel to most is…my house and garden in Highlands, North Carolina. It is a balm for my soul.
Every home needs...doors and windows that can be opened to let in light and fresh air. It doesn’t need any furniture, only art and fresh air.
The one place in Atlanta I always take guests is…first, my garden, and then the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
My favorite way to entertain at home is…quickly and simply, cooking the vegetables that I have grown and serving them to friends who are awed by the fresh tastes (not to be confused with my cooking skills).
The car I drive is…any one of my company trucks with the Marcia Weber Gardens to Love signage. My favorite is the old F150.
My proudest professional moment came when…it is still to come.
My favorite dish to prepare at home is…sourdough bread. I love the process of making it. I start on Friday night and by Sunday night the loaf is ready to eat hot from the oven with butter and coarse French sea salt. Heaven in my mouth!
The accessory I won’t leave home without is...La Prairie lipstick.
The biggest influence on my work has been…my travels, without a doubt. In traveling, I observe plants and the environments in which they grow. I consider the soil and its properties, the light and then the way plants are used in gardens. I bring that information back and integrate it into our work at Marcia Weber Gardens to Love.
When I get an unexpected day to myself, I like to…work in my garden.
My Sunday routine is…I squeeze my orange juice with one eye open. Next, I make coffee and settle in with the Sunday New York Times. I spend a little time in the garden and then I go to the office to prepare myself for the week ahead. Then it is time to bake the bread! I’m so exhausted after a day of relaxing that we have to go out for dinner!
My signature colors are…warm to hot tones tempered by green and white.
My favorite garden is…mine! Of those that are not mine, I love Stourhead in England for its open landscape and vistas.
My own home reflects a love of…classical ease and comfort mixed with a love of minimalist contemporary art. There are also stacks of magazines that I can’t live without and omnipresent newspapers. I’m a newspaper reader.
My fashion sense of style is best described as...structured and sensible. The jewelry that my husband buys for me gives my look a dash of excitement. Honestly, I’ve worn a landscape designers’ uniform of Brooks Brothers khaki pants and blue shirts with my company logo daily for more than 30 years. Perhaps I should say my fashion sense is uniformed!
The first thing I see when I wake up is...a Louise Nevelson drawing of a nude woman with wide hips, heavy thighs and narrow shoulders. I know I am not alone in the world when I see that drawing.
The person I admire most is…my husband, Charlie Weber. He has done good things with his life and he has guided many young people in positive ways.
The one piece of advice I’d give to any rising landscape architect is...to continuously study the relationship of space and proportion and light and horticulture. After all, we are filling a space with a garden.

 DESIGNER FAVORITES 
Favorite table linens: Old white linen
Favorite furniture style: Modern Italian pleases my eye these days
Favorite dinnerware: Very white French china
Favorite architectural style: Bauhaus to Brutalist Modern. My concrete, glass-and-steel house in Highlands was built in the ’30s and designed after Mies Van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion. It is a constant joy to be in that space.
Favorite wine: Good Sancerre
Favorite music: 20th-century classical
Favorite fashion designer: Armani
Favorite artisanal food: Goat cheese made closest to wherever I may be eating it
Favorite artist(s): Donald Judd, Richard Serra, Eduardo Chillida
Favorite flower: Roses, always roses