April 18, 2025 • 12 mins
Ever wonder what happens when traditional garden design meets ecological consciousness? Andrea Bustolin of Speakeasy Garden merges beauty, sustainability, and purpose through her innovative landscaping approach. What began with a shovel, an old truck, and word-of-mouth referrals has grown into a full ecological design firm. From English cottage gardens to food forests, Andrea reimagines familiar styles using medicinals, edibles, and native plants—all with an eye toward minimizing maintenance and maximizing environmental impact.
What sets Andrea apart is a rich background in fine arts, horticultural science, and sustainable agriculture, along with a life-changing journey—both literal and metaphorical. After cycling down the West Coast to learn from seasoned gardeners and later recovering from temporary paralysis, she brings a unique perspective to garden design, especially for those with mobility challenges. Her philosophy is grounded in the belief that gardens are more than ornamental—they're intergenerational assets that reflect our values and connect us to nature. To see how ecological design can transform your outdoor space, follow Speakeasy Garden on Instagram or visit speakeasygarden.com.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, YvonneGodfrey.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Today, I have the distinctpleasure and delight to
introduce Andrea Bustelin, andshe is the owner of Speakeasy
Garden.
Andrea, how are you?
Speaker 3 (00:25):
doing today Good.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
We're delighted to have you Love your last name,
Lucy.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Thank you.
You can thank my husband forthat.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Well, let's thank your husband indeed.
So, Andrea, can you please tellour listeners about Speakeasy
Garden?
How did you come across thename and what is it all about?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Well, the name is from when I was a young thing,
in my 20s, and I just showed upme and a shovel in an old truck
and it was just word of mouth.
So it was kind of almost likerunning a speakeasy Say the
secret password and you know,you appear.
And now I'm running a fullfledged company.
(01:16):
I'm an ecological gardendesigner.
The company designs, installsand maintains outdoor spaces and
we do just about every kind ofgarden.
You can think of Vegetables,english potager gardens, food
forests, hell strip plantings,cut flower gardens, pollinator
gardens and lawn replacements.
Conceptually, many of ourdesigns fall in the traditional
(01:39):
categories, but we're veryconscious of the ecological
impact that our spaces create.
So we are.
You know, when we're designingwe love to take traditional
styles, such as like a cottagegarden, and then we reimagine
them in a way that addressessoil quality and beneficial
insects and we like to beinclusive of medicinal and
(02:01):
edibles and natives, like to beinclusive of medicinal and
edibles and natives and we tryto create spaces that are going
to minimize the time that'sspent on maintenance and
watering and fertilizing.
So it's kind of a new twist onan old idea.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
That sounds great, especially the medicinal portion
that you mentioned.
That sounds great.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yeah, we have a lot of interest in that lately right
, yeah, we have a lot ofinterest in that lately.
Nice how did you get into thistype of business?
Well, I grew up on Cape Ann andI was raised in Gloucester and
I graduated from Barberley HighSchool.
And when I graduated I wasblessed with a scholarship that
allowed me to go to Montserratfor fine art and after I
(02:41):
completed my foundationfoundation year I knew pretty
much right away as much as Iloved fine arts I needed to be
outside.
So I switched gears and Iattended the horticultural
extension at the Essex AggieSchool and I found that I just I
loved horticultural science andI loved it so much that I
actually went on and got mybachelor's degree in sustainable
(03:03):
agriculture up in Vermont andfor a few years I was an organic
farmer and I guess I found thatto be a little bit too linear
for my mind.
So you know, we just keptcoming back to.
We had all these volunteersthat were coming from the CSA or
traveling farmhands that wouldcome in and they would express
how much they wished they coulddo something like this on their
(03:26):
own land and I think when Istarted hearing requests like
that and repetition, it wasreally like the first aha moment
.
So I really started thinkingabout like how much content
within the realm ofsustainability is idealistic and
how necessary it is for thepublic to have something
tangible and interactive.
So I did a few gardeningapprenticeships and then I did
(03:49):
some investigative researchwhere I rode my bicycle down the
West Coast and visited farmsand gardens and just talked to
anyone who had been in thebusiness for a while and I had
spoken to them about theirexperiences and volunteered in
their operations.
I had in-depth conversationsabout regrets and innovations
(04:09):
and I think when I returned homethe timeline sort of just
progressed.
Naturally I started doingcontract work and developing my
skills in design.
I did a deep dive intopermaculture and soil biology.
I did a deep dive intopermaculture and soil biology
and I think those things sort ofjust culminated into what is
(04:30):
now Speakeasy Gardens Verynatural.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Do you also provide educational resources for these
plants that you grow?
Speaker 3 (04:40):
I do.
Yeah, we also do a lot ofconsultation, where we can go to
people's yards or schools andhost activities where you can
learn how to properly prune oryou can learn about soil biology
or planting, and we've alsodone a lot of talks that have
been open to the public in thepast, usually gardening groups.
(05:03):
So, yeah, we definitely do that, okay great.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
The educational piece is so important.
There's so many plants and somany benefits that they provide.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
It definitely is, and there's also so many
horticultural programs right nowthat are closing across the
country because young peoplejust don't have the interest in
it that they used to.
So I really feel like thisknowledge needs to be passed
down somehow and that you knowgardeners need to be sharing
everything that they can now.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Yes, before it's lost Right.
So what are some myths ormisconceptions that you
discovered in this industry?
Speaker 3 (05:48):
that you discovered in this industry, I would say
one of the most common things Ihear is that a yard is unable to
sustain healthy growth, or thata garden will take too much
time and effort to manage.
And I get clients who arereally frustrated after years of
unsuccessfully trying to grow agarden, say that there's no way
they can have a garden withbeautiful blooms.
(06:09):
Or I'll get people that arereally overwhelmed with the
amount of labor that's requiredon their landscape and they'll
ask me to rip everything out andjust put shrubs in.
And I think that both of thosethoughts can be addressed with
the same response, which is tosay, a good design addresses the
needs of an individual and thespace, and the reason the garden
(06:32):
will often fail is because it'snot the right list of plants in
the right spot, or it's not theright design for the
individual's physical and mentalneeds the garden for everyone.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, there is, there is, so that's beautiful.
So, andrea, outside of work,what do you do for fun?
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Well, my husband and I are running a homestead, so we
really don't have any days whenwe don't work.
When we're getting home fromwork, we're usually doing more
work.
But we do live in an area thatis there's a lot of hiking
trails, so we spend a lot oftime hiking and walking and
swimming in the area, and in thewintertime we actually build
(07:18):
this really long ice luge in theback of our house every winter.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
And that's a whole lot of fun.
Nice, that sounds nice, withnature, blended with nature,
beautiful.
So changing gears.
Andrea, can you describe onehardship or one of life's
challenge that you rose aboveand, as a result, can you, now
that you're better and stronger,what comes to your mind?
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Yeah, there I would say the most.
The thing that comes to mindthe most is the most recent.
The summer before last I wasactually paralyzed from the
waist down, without warning andafter a lot of time and
(08:10):
inability to walk or bend or donormal daily activities without
assistance, and I think duringthat time I was having a real
identity crisis, not being ableto do the things that a gardener
does.
So, yeah, it was a reallydifficult thing trying to
overcome pain and not knowinghow long it's going to last or
if it's going to get worse orbetter, knowing that you don't
(08:32):
have any control.
But I think what I learned fromit is that when the
externalities of your personamelt away, there's really only
two choices you self-destructdue to an inability to let go of
the idea that you have nocontrol or that the external
self is the true self, or youturn inward and you find peace
(08:56):
and you know the idea that aflower never tries to be
anything outside of a flowerreally says it all.
It knows its place in theuniverse and we can see its
observation.
You know it's how it exists innature and flowers are beautiful
to us because God's divinitycan be seen in its servitude.
They serve the bees, themicrobes in the soil, they serve
(09:17):
as medicine for people andanimals.
They serve in a way thatconnects all of us and I think
when I realized who I was wasn'tdetermined by the things that
are seen, but by the things thatare unseen, that I carry in my
heart and in my mind myperspective on life sort of
(09:38):
shifted.
So changing your state of mindis a very powerful thing and I
think cultivating the innatevalues that are seated in the
heart is a practice that can donothing but align you with peace
.
So I think going through all ofthat, as hard as it was, it's
(09:58):
made me a better designer.
It's made me more creative andconfident in my work and within
the realm of communication, andI'm better able to relate to
those with mobility challenges,which is really helpful for me
when I'm designing for some ofmy older clients who are retired
and unable to, you know, bendover in the garden and do the
(10:22):
things that they used to do.
So yeah, it's beenlife-changing, but in a lot of
good ways.
I don't know that I'll ever beable to.
I don't know how physicallychallenging this is going to be
for me in the future.
But I certainly don't have thatfear of not being able to
contribute anymore.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Beautiful, beautiful.
Andrea, can you please tell ourlisteners one thing that they
should remember about aspeakeasy garden?
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Sure, I think, simply put, gardens and landscapes are
intergenerational assets, and Ithink that this is especially
true in public spaces.
I think that it's reallyimportant for us to have more
spaces where people can connectwith each other as a community
and to nature, and to haveplaces that are going to create
food and beauty, and you know,it's that belief that keeps me
going year after year in thiswork, and I often find that it's
(11:16):
the same belief that attractsnew people to the line of work.
So I really think that peopleshould start thinking about
gardens as something that can bepassed down in between
generations.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
I agree.
Nature holds the key to healthyliving, healthy body, and we
need to know what those remediesare, and in order to learn
about them, we have to getinvolved in planting and herbs
and things of that nature.
Nice, so, andrea, can you tellour listeners how they can learn
more about Speakeasy Garden?
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Yeah, you can definitely visit our Instagram
page.
We have a lot of reallybeautiful pictures up there and
we also have a Facebook page andwe have a website at
speakeasygardenscom where peoplecan find our phone number and
reach out to us via email.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Okay, wonderful.
So, Andrea, we reallyappreciate you being on the show
with us today and we wish youand Speakeasy Gardens, your
business, all the very best,moving forward.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnpnShorecom,that's GNPNorthShorecom, or call
857-703-9406.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, YvonneGodfrey.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Today, I have the distinctpleasure and delight to
introduce Andrea Bustelin, andshe is the owner of Speakeasy
Garden.
Andrea, how are you?
Speaker 3 (00:25):
doing today Good.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
We're delighted to have you Love your last name,
Lucy.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Thank you.
You can thank my husband forthat.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Well, let's thank your husband indeed.
So, Andrea, can you please tellour listeners about Speakeasy
Garden?
How did you come across thename and what is it all about?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Well, the name is from when I was a young thing,
in my 20s, and I just showed upme and a shovel in an old truck
and it was just word of mouth.
So it was kind of almost likerunning a speakeasy Say the
secret password and you know,you appear.
And now I'm running a fullfledged company.
(01:16):
I'm an ecological gardendesigner.
The company designs, installsand maintains outdoor spaces and
we do just about every kind ofgarden.
You can think of Vegetables,english potager gardens, food
forests, hell strip plantings,cut flower gardens, pollinator
gardens and lawn replacements.
Conceptually, many of ourdesigns fall in the traditional
(01:39):
categories, but we're veryconscious of the ecological
impact that our spaces create.
So we are.
You know, when we're designingwe love to take traditional
styles, such as like a cottagegarden, and then we reimagine
them in a way that addressessoil quality and beneficial
insects and we like to beinclusive of medicinal and
(02:01):
edibles and natives, like to beinclusive of medicinal and
edibles and natives and we tryto create spaces that are going
to minimize the time that'sspent on maintenance and
watering and fertilizing.
So it's kind of a new twist onan old idea.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
That sounds great, especially the medicinal portion
that you mentioned.
That sounds great.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yeah, we have a lot of interest in that lately right
, yeah, we have a lot ofinterest in that lately.
Nice how did you get into thistype of business?
Well, I grew up on Cape Ann andI was raised in Gloucester and
I graduated from Barberley HighSchool.
And when I graduated I wasblessed with a scholarship that
allowed me to go to Montserratfor fine art and after I
(02:41):
completed my foundationfoundation year I knew pretty
much right away as much as Iloved fine arts I needed to be
outside.
So I switched gears and Iattended the horticultural
extension at the Essex AggieSchool and I found that I just I
loved horticultural science andI loved it so much that I
actually went on and got mybachelor's degree in sustainable
(03:03):
agriculture up in Vermont andfor a few years I was an organic
farmer and I guess I found thatto be a little bit too linear
for my mind.
So you know, we just keptcoming back to.
We had all these volunteersthat were coming from the CSA or
traveling farmhands that wouldcome in and they would express
how much they wished they coulddo something like this on their
(03:26):
own land and I think when Istarted hearing requests like
that and repetition, it wasreally like the first aha moment
.
So I really started thinkingabout like how much content
within the realm ofsustainability is idealistic and
how necessary it is for thepublic to have something
tangible and interactive.
So I did a few gardeningapprenticeships and then I did
(03:49):
some investigative researchwhere I rode my bicycle down the
West Coast and visited farmsand gardens and just talked to
anyone who had been in thebusiness for a while and I had
spoken to them about theirexperiences and volunteered in
their operations.
I had in-depth conversationsabout regrets and innovations
(04:09):
and I think when I returned homethe timeline sort of just
progressed.
Naturally I started doingcontract work and developing my
skills in design.
I did a deep dive intopermaculture and soil biology.
I did a deep dive intopermaculture and soil biology
and I think those things sort ofjust culminated into what is
(04:30):
now Speakeasy Gardens Verynatural.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Do you also provide educational resources for these
plants that you grow?
Speaker 3 (04:40):
I do.
Yeah, we also do a lot ofconsultation, where we can go to
people's yards or schools andhost activities where you can
learn how to properly prune oryou can learn about soil biology
or planting, and we've alsodone a lot of talks that have
been open to the public in thepast, usually gardening groups.
(05:03):
So, yeah, we definitely do that, okay great.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
The educational piece is so important.
There's so many plants and somany benefits that they provide.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
It definitely is, and there's also so many
horticultural programs right nowthat are closing across the
country because young peoplejust don't have the interest in
it that they used to.
So I really feel like thisknowledge needs to be passed
down somehow and that you knowgardeners need to be sharing
everything that they can now.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Yes, before it's lost Right.
So what are some myths ormisconceptions that you
discovered in this industry?
Speaker 3 (05:48):
that you discovered in this industry, I would say
one of the most common things Ihear is that a yard is unable to
sustain healthy growth, or thata garden will take too much
time and effort to manage.
And I get clients who arereally frustrated after years of
unsuccessfully trying to grow agarden, say that there's no way
they can have a garden withbeautiful blooms.
(06:09):
Or I'll get people that arereally overwhelmed with the
amount of labor that's requiredon their landscape and they'll
ask me to rip everything out andjust put shrubs in.
And I think that both of thosethoughts can be addressed with
the same response, which is tosay, a good design addresses the
needs of an individual and thespace, and the reason the garden
(06:32):
will often fail is because it'snot the right list of plants in
the right spot, or it's not theright design for the
individual's physical and mentalneeds the garden for everyone.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, there is, there is, so that's beautiful.
So, andrea, outside of work,what do you do for fun?
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Well, my husband and I are running a homestead, so we
really don't have any days whenwe don't work.
When we're getting home fromwork, we're usually doing more
work.
But we do live in an area thatis there's a lot of hiking
trails, so we spend a lot oftime hiking and walking and
swimming in the area, and in thewintertime we actually build
(07:18):
this really long ice luge in theback of our house every winter.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
And that's a whole lot of fun.
Nice, that sounds nice, withnature, blended with nature,
beautiful.
So changing gears.
Andrea, can you describe onehardship or one of life's
challenge that you rose aboveand, as a result, can you, now
that you're better and stronger,what comes to your mind?
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Yeah, there I would say the most.
The thing that comes to mindthe most is the most recent.
The summer before last I wasactually paralyzed from the
waist down, without warning andafter a lot of time and
(08:10):
inability to walk or bend or donormal daily activities without
assistance, and I think duringthat time I was having a real
identity crisis, not being ableto do the things that a gardener
does.
So, yeah, it was a reallydifficult thing trying to
overcome pain and not knowinghow long it's going to last or
if it's going to get worse orbetter, knowing that you don't
(08:32):
have any control.
But I think what I learned fromit is that when the
externalities of your personamelt away, there's really only
two choices you self-destructdue to an inability to let go of
the idea that you have nocontrol or that the external
self is the true self, or youturn inward and you find peace
(08:56):
and you know the idea that aflower never tries to be
anything outside of a flowerreally says it all.
It knows its place in theuniverse and we can see its
observation.
You know it's how it exists innature and flowers are beautiful
to us because God's divinitycan be seen in its servitude.
They serve the bees, themicrobes in the soil, they serve
(09:17):
as medicine for people andanimals.
They serve in a way thatconnects all of us and I think
when I realized who I was wasn'tdetermined by the things that
are seen, but by the things thatare unseen, that I carry in my
heart and in my mind myperspective on life sort of
(09:38):
shifted.
So changing your state of mindis a very powerful thing and I
think cultivating the innatevalues that are seated in the
heart is a practice that can donothing but align you with peace
.
So I think going through all ofthat, as hard as it was, it's
(09:58):
made me a better designer.
It's made me more creative andconfident in my work and within
the realm of communication, andI'm better able to relate to
those with mobility challenges,which is really helpful for me
when I'm designing for some ofmy older clients who are retired
and unable to, you know, bendover in the garden and do the
(10:22):
things that they used to do.
So yeah, it's beenlife-changing, but in a lot of
good ways.
I don't know that I'll ever beable to.
I don't know how physicallychallenging this is going to be
for me in the future.
But I certainly don't have thatfear of not being able to
contribute anymore.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Beautiful, beautiful.
Andrea, can you please tell ourlisteners one thing that they
should remember about aspeakeasy garden?
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Sure, I think, simply put, gardens and landscapes are
intergenerational assets, and Ithink that this is especially
true in public spaces.
I think that it's reallyimportant for us to have more
spaces where people can connectwith each other as a community
and to nature, and to haveplaces that are going to create
food and beauty, and you know,it's that belief that keeps me
going year after year in thiswork, and I often find that it's
(11:16):
the same belief that attractsnew people to the line of work.
So I really think that peopleshould start thinking about
gardens as something that can bepassed down in between
generations.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
I agree.
Nature holds the key to healthyliving, healthy body, and we
need to know what those remediesare, and in order to learn
about them, we have to getinvolved in planting and herbs
and things of that nature.
Nice, so, andrea, can you tellour listeners how they can learn
more about Speakeasy Garden?
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Yeah, you can definitely visit our Instagram
page.
We have a lot of reallybeautiful pictures up there and
we also have a Facebook page andwe have a website at
speakeasygardenscom where peoplecan find our phone number and
reach out to us via email.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Okay, wonderful.
So, Andrea, we reallyappreciate you being on the show
with us today and we wish youand Speakeasy Gardens, your
business, all the very best,moving forward.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnpnShorecom,that's GNPNorthShorecom, or call
857-703-9406.
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