About Us

Gill’s Mission

In 1978, Sally Munroe and James Gill joined as partners to design and install residential and commercial landscapes in the Corpus Christi area. They soon consolidated their partnership by marriage and moved their growing landscape business out of their backyard. Gill Landscape Nursery (now Gill Garden Center + Landscape Co.) was opened to serve retail customers in 1979. Since then, Gill’s has grown organically to become the trusted source for gardening advice, healthy plants, and quality landscape design and construction in the Coastal Bend. In 2018, Sally and James hired Jesse Jenkins as General Manager to begin making their transition to retirement. In 2022, Jesse purchased the company to carry Gill’s forward for a new generation.

As always, Gill Garden Center + Landscape Co. is dedicated to teaching successful gardening and bringing quality products and services to our community. We practice sustainable business ethics centered around respect and continued improvement.

Words From Our Customers

We love the enthusiasm of our customers when they see our work! From high customer ratings and the praise we receive in reviews, we think you'll see why Gill Garden Center + Landscape Co. has a growing reputation for quality and professionalism.

Meet Our Management Team and Office Staff

Jesse

Owner and General Manager

A Northeast Texas native and longtime Austin resident, Jesse began working at Gill’s in the Fall of 2018. His love of nature and design attracted him to Gill’s, and his business experience makes him well-suited to manage the company. In Fall 2022, after 4 years as General Manager, Jesse purchased the company from Sally and James Gill. Jesse’s values align well with those the company was founded on and has earned a reputation for. He is leading Gill’s forward with a solid foundation and an amazing team!

Debbie

Buyer

Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Debbie graduated from Richard King High School. She has been with Gill’s since 1995 as a salesperson and buyer and is a Texas Certified Nursery Professional. Debbie is always exploring new plant varieties and looking for the best quality plants available for you, our customers. She loves visiting with our customers about their garden interests and uses that knowledge to design & co-ordinate our in-store garden talks.

DeAnna

Garden Center Manager

DeAnna is our garden center manager for 39 years running! She managed our Alameda store for 29 years before moving to our Airline store in 2016. She loves container gardening and teaching children about vegetable gardening. In 2006, in her spare time (ha! ha!) she was named the Nueces County Coordinator for the Learning to Grow Program, installing over 300 vegetable gardens in schools from Agua Dulce to Port Aransas. She was awarded 2nd place Master Gardener Of The Year 2012 for the state of Texas. She is also a Certified Nursery Professional.

Wyatt

Garden Center Asst. Manager

Wyatt has been a hard-working member of the Gill’s team since 2015. He graduated from TAMU-CC with an art degree in 2018. Wyatt is passionate about organic gardening and building healthy soils. He also loves growing veggies and promoting wildlife through the use of native plants. When Wyatt's not gardening he loves all things outdoors including hiking, snowboarding, and camping.

Kathy

Landscape Designer

A Corpus Christi native and graduate of Texas A&M, Kingsville, Kathy has been with Gill's since 1987. She is a certified board member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers and member of Leadership Corpus Christi, class 24, as well as the Texas Certified Nursery Professionals and specializes in residential and commercial landscape design, estimates and installations.

Harry

Landscape Designer

Harry Villarreal began working at Gill Garden Center + Landscape Co. in 2017, learning the nursery trade,
gaining field knowledge working on landscape installations, then apprenticing under James Gill and
Kathy Hubner to learn landscape design. Harry is a Corpus Christi native - he knows the challenges our
landscapes face, and he’s skilled at using native and climate-appropriate plants to create lasting designs.
He’s a great collaborator and enjoys building outdoor spaces to be enjoyed. His passion is to create
unique landscapes, tailored to each unique home or business. Other interests of Harry’s include wildlife
habitat conservation and restoration, rainwater harvesting, and edible gardening.

Hidalgo

Equipment & Facilities Manager

A Corpus Christi native, Hidalgo graduated from W.B. Ray High School and Del Mar College where he studied horticulture. He has worked with Gill’s since 1992 in the nursery, on the landscape crew, and as foreman. Now, as Production & Facility Manager, Hidalgo co-ordinates work between our landscape and garden center department on a daily basis, manages our landscape equipment program and our garden center & jobsite safety program. On top of that, all physical improvements at our garden center are managed or done by Hidalgo.

Ori

Assistant Buyer

Ori joined Gill's in 2017 and does it all in the Garden Center. In 2022, she became our Assistant Buyer. Her passion is houseplants. She's constantly researching and collecting houseplants, and finding cool new varieties to stock here at Gill's. Ori is a 2nd generation Gill's team member - her dad, Francisco, worked in the landscape department for many years.

Barbara

Bookkeeper

Barbara, our accountant, is Corpus Christi born and raised. We are very fortunate to have had her with us since 1994! She has been in the family for even longer than that – she worked for Sally Gill's dad at Munroe & Bass Civil Engineers for 10 years before joining Gill’s.

Stacy

Office Administrator

Stacy has been a valuable part of the Gill’s team since 2005. She’s an expert multi-tasker – she manages accounts payable, assists with receiving, keeps our plant signs looking good, and keeps our office organized and running smoothly. On top of all that, she’s the first to test new plants in her garden at home.

Gabriella

Landscape Design Assistant

Gabriella spent several years in the military where she picked up different types of CAD and project management experience, which make her a well-suited Landscape Design Assistant here at Gill’s! She drafts landscape plans, helps with estimating, and helps keep our many landscape projects organized and on track. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting. Oh, and Gabriella also plays the flute!

Meet Our Garden Center Staff

Andy

Andy has been with Gill’s since 2010 and worked as a machinist for 17 years prior. He also spent some time landscaping for Padre Staples Mall. Andy loves planting and watching vegetables bloom and grow. When not helping out around the nursery, he can be found playing golf and admiring the landscape, or spending time with his family.

Anthony

Anthony moved to the Corpus area by way of the East Coast in 2023 and joined the Gill's team. He's always got a smile on his face and ready to help with any task.

Blake

Blake came to Gill's in 2023 because he loves working outside. He grew up doing farm work and he's pursuing his degree in Environmental Science at TAMU-CC. He loves working with plants and multi-tasking. When he's not studying or helping out at Gill's, he's surfing or playing soccer.

Brandon

Brandon joined Gill's back in 2020. After 3 years in the landscape department, Brandon now leads our planting crew in the garden center. He loves the outdoors, whether he's surfing, fishing, or planting trees!

Caleb

Caleb joined the Gill's crew in Summer of 2022 as Photographer and Content Creator. He came highly recommended by our friends in the Del Mar College Art Department. Caleb is not only a talented photographer, he's a plant person with a big collection of houseplants and succulents! In Fall 2023, he plans to continue his art education at TAMU-CC.

Clarissa

Clarissa is a Corpus native who joined Gill’s in Spring 2023. She’s a nature fan – she earned her degree in Biology from TAMU-CC and she’s a birdwatcher! She enjoys reading and playing Dungeons and Dragons in her spare time. She’s enjoying learning more about plants and getting to know our regular customers.

Diane

Diane is a San Jose, California native, but we're sure glad she came to Texas! She started at Gill’s Alameda in 1998 until 2001 and then returned in 2006 at our Airline store. In between, Diane worked as a vet tech and is the unofficial Gill’s kitty caretaker. Diane’s gardening passion is for tropical plants. Ask her about them.

KC

KC started in the garden center as a cashier in Spring 2023 and hit the ground running! She's having fun learning about plants (her favorite right now is Mona Lavender) and she's a natural with people. She's also a talented artist! She's painted some great signs here at Gill's and she hopes to do a pop-up with her artwork at ArtWalk.

Matt

Joining Gill's in 2009, Matt has a love for gardening that doesn't stop. He's constantly reading and learning and loves to share his passion with his customers. Matt is particularly interested in soil composition, ethnobotany, and vegetable and fruit production. As one of our Garden Coaches, Matt can help you design and install beds and other small landscape areas.

Mike

Mike has been with Gill's since 2007. Pre Gill's he was in the underwater service department in Long Beach, California, his home town. Mike has a special interest and extensive knowledge of local trees and is our go to guy for trees.

Natalie

Natalie came to Corpus from Edinburg, TX to attend TAMU-CC. She’s an artist working on her Studio Art degree with a focus in painting and drawing. She’s enjoying learning about veggie gardening and how to repot plants in the garden center. When she’s not studying or helping customers here at Gill’s, she loves to travel and visit family.

Rose

Rose’s interest in gardening is what brought her to Gill’s in Spring 2020. We’re very glad to have her! Her passion for plants really rubs off on customers – she loves helping gardeners get what they need and hearing about their success. In addition to caring for her garden at home, Rose has 4 dogs, 2 cats, and 3 fishtanks!

Veronica

Veronica hails from Tampa, Florida where she had experience working at a top-notch garden center. She moved to Corpus and joined the Gill’s team in spring 2024. We’re so happy to have another self-proclaimed plant nerd on board. Veronica is a certified nursery professional in Florida, and now she’s working on her Texas certification! She also enjoys community events and volunteering in her spare time.

Meet Our Landscape Department Staff

Arnold

Arnold has been an excellent member of Gill landscape crews since 2004. He hails from Alice, TX and is a Carroll alumni. He loves the opportunity to “make everything look beautiful” at homes and businesses about town.

Ben

Ben spent several years on the landscape team here at Gill's back in the 2010s, and decided to re-join us in 2023! We're happy to have him back - he knows landscaping, he's a great problem solver, and a pleasure to be around.

Brandon

Brandon hails from Victoria and Corpus and has been with Gill’s since 2011. He was an English Philosophy major in college and his previous job history pegs him a Renaissance man – he’s worked as a baker, a butcher, warehouse manager, video store clerk, garage door installer, administrative assistant, flooring estimator, and now a landscaper! He likes the opportunity for “artistic creation on a large canvas in a natural setting of beauty.”

Brandon

Brandon has been a valuable part of the Gill's team since 2018. His favorite part of a project is placing the plants and seeing the plan come together. When he’s not out working hard with the Gill’s crew, he’s spending time with his two daughters.

Jimmy

Jimmy joined our team in 2014 after working many years in residential & commercial landscape installation here in Corpus Christi. Jimmy leads a crew and guides every project with his expertise in the field. He loves beautifying the Sparkling City by the Sea!

Juan

Juan has been a key part of the landscape team since 2020. He spent a brief time trying other jobs before deciding he really enjoyed landscape construction and re-joining Gill's in 2022. When he's not working hard, he enjoys spending time outdoors with his son and family.

Kevin

Kevin joined Gill’s in 2008 as a landscape crewman; today he leads a crew, working on landscape construction projects large and small. His other passion is music so don’t be surprised if you see him with his band entertaining the crowds on the weekend.

Mike

Mike has been a member of the Gill crew since 2013. He is a Corpus Christi native and King graduate. He is a key part of the landscape team, and says that he loves the rewarding feeling of turning a normal yard into a beautiful landscape.

Tony

Tony joined our landscape team in 2018 and hit the ground running! With his carpentry background, he quickly adapted to landscape construction and became a crew leader here at Gill's. In his spare time, he enjoys woodworking and playing guitar with his brother Kevin, who is a long-time landscape pro here at Gill’s as well!

Our Core Values

These are not values that change from time to time, situation to situation or person to person, but rather are the underpinning of our company culture. Our core values underlie our work, how we interact with each other and with our customers, and which strategies we employ to fulfill our mission. Our core values are always the framework from which we make our decisions. When we act with the core values in mind, we are acting with integrity.

Team

We support each other. We communicate openly and trust one another to work for the good of all. We recognize that when we are working together in harmony we can accomplish greater things.

Respect

We treat our customers, coworkers and ourselves with respect. We are patient and look for the best in others. We treat others as we would want to be treated and we never ask our coworkers to do something we would not do ourselves.

Service

We go above and beyond to create an emotional impact on our customers and give them a positive story they can take with them. A part of this is our expertise; we bring a level of knowledge that makes us the go-to source for answers and guidance for our customers.

Fun

We have fun every day. We have fun growing our relationships with coworkers and customers. We have fun sharing gardening stories and teaching through success and failure experiences. We appreciate the value of laughter with one another and the joy of sharing a smile.

Passion

We approach our work with passion and excitement because we believe strongly in what we do. We bring a positive and optimistic attitude that inspires everyone around us.

Quality of Work

We want to be proud of the quality of our products and our workmanship. We complete our work efficiently, but never by compromising quality, the safety of ourselves and others, or our relationship with our customers.

Improvement

We never become too comfortable with where we are, but instead are always looking for ways to improve. In our pursuit of excellence we are not afraid to take risks and are supportive of our coworkers when they take risks. No matter what happens, we always ask ourselves "What can we learn from this?"

Ownership

We each take ownership over our own job. We take it upon ourselves to expand our knowledge and abilities and to develop into better communicators and leaders. We feel proud of what we can offer to the company and to our community.

Gain New Skills and a Wealth of Knowledge by Working on Our Professional Team

Working at Gill Garden Center + Landscape is an opportunity to work with plant and landscaping experts who are willing to share their knowledge. We offer outdoor jobs in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. Find out more about our available positions and the benefits of becoming one of our valued employees.

Learn More

Better than your average email.

The Gill Garden News

Sign up for the Gill Garden News, our weekly e-newsletter! Each Thursday at 6pm, you’ll receive the Garden News direct to your inbox, packed with a weekly gardening blog, garden tips, weekly in-store specials, updates about events, and lots more.

About Us

Gill’s Mission

Words From Our Customers

Meet Our Management Team and Office Staff

Jesse

Debbie

DeAnna

Wyatt

Kathy

Harry

Hidalgo

Ori

Barbara

Stacy

Gabriella

Meet Our Garden Center Staff

Andy

Anthony

Blake

Brandon

Caleb

Clarissa

Diane

KC

Matt

Mike

Natalie

Rose

Veronica

Meet Our Landscape Department Staff

Arnold

Ben

Brandon

Brandon

Jimmy

Juan

Kevin

Mike

Tony

Our Core Values

Gain New Skills and a Wealth of Knowledge by Working on Our Professional Team

Better than your average email.

The Gill Garden News

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