owner/designer/horticulturist

Syretha Brooks

Syretha is a life-long lover of plants and the outdoor world. Born in Harpswell, Maine, she grew up playing in her mother’s gardens and started her own garden career at the age of 16 working for Sharon Whitney, an iris breeder and the owner of Eartheart Gardens, located in Harpswell Neck. Sharon and the Eartheart crew taught Syretha the basics of gardening and instilled a love for working in the outdoors. Syretha went on to Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts where she got a B.A. in fine arts with a concentration in printmaking. However she did not give up on plants, taking all the horticulture classes offered by Smith at the time as well as doing dual work study jobs as a printmaking assistant and arborist’s assistant, as well as working in the greenhouses at every opportunity (no stack of dirty terra cotta pots to wash was too much for her!) After a college summer spent printmaking in New York City (rather than working in gardens in Maine) it became clear plants were truly her passion. After graduation from Smith she continued in the field of horticulture, first completing an internship at The Harvard Arnold Arboretum, in Boston, then going on to first a position of staff horticulturist at Wave Hill Gardens in the Bronx, NYC, where she stewarded the Wild Garden for two years, and after as a staff horticulturist at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine. In 2018 she made the decision to return to private gardening and worked as landscape manager, designer, and horticulturist for Pretty Flowers, based in Brunswick, Maine, and owned by the wonderful Amy Maloney. Syretha is excited to continue her horticulture journey with Bee Balm Design Company, where she continues to design, manage the staff, and work in the field on a daily basis.

Joe Monthey

Since Joe was young, he always wanted to have a career that allowed him to be outside producing, sharing, and eating great food. After college, he dove headfirst into this goal and started to work my way through the food system – from farm, to processing, to culinary school, to kitchens, and bakeries, and most recently to the wine industry, and homesteading gardens. Along the way, he sought out every opportunity to take friends and family to lesser-known regions of the world to share that passion. He looks at his role in gardens and food as a storyteller for farmers, bringing to life the experiences and flavors for customers.  He loves making food an experiential event for those around me and I’m passionate about bringing sustainable, small scale food agriculture to the community. He’s excited to be able to help the Bee Balm Design team wherever it’s needed.

office manager/edible plantings manager

Kristen Brown

horticulturist

Kristen has had her hands in the soil since she was a child, tending the Earth alongside her grandmother in her garden. She found her way to Maine almost a decade ago by way of organic vegetable farming. She has spent her time on this landscape studying ecology, small scale farming, homesteading,  horticulture, soil science, and nature-based skills. She graduated valedictorian with her degree in  Horticulture from Southern Maine Community College in South Portland, Maine in the spring of 2020. Her work study in fine gardening brought her from the farm fields to home gardens over the past 4 years. Honing her skills in working with both ornamental and native plants, merging the cultivation with the wild, the edible and the beautiful.

Along with her passion for pruning and nurturing plants, she also tends to a sweet rescue pup named Louie. Her off days are spent exploring mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. A walk in the woods is her favorite medicine, and a cup of coffee in the front of the wood stove is her favorite way to start the day.

Theo & Lily

mascots/quality control

Theo and Lily serve as general moral boosters, chief rodent control officers, as well as approving all designs. While they are unable to make site visits, Lily will happily greet/sit on the lap of anyone who visits our home base, and Theo will assess from a distance