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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Diane
KC
Matt
Mike
Natalie
Rose
Veronica
Meet Our Landscape Department Staff
Arnold
Ben
Brandon
Brandon
Cesar
Jimmy
Juan
Kevin
Mike
Tony
Our Core Values
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
Service
Fun
Passion
Quality of Work
Improvement
Ownership
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.
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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.
