When Brit Trible’s best friend told her she was “gilding the lily,” she knew she’d found her calling—and her business name. The phrase, meaning to take something naturally beautiful and make it extraordinary, perfectly captured what Trible does for homes throughout Richmond and Charlottesville.
In 2024, Trible was working as an occupational therapist, building meaningful connections with her patients and their families. But despite the rewards, she still felt unfulfilled, and every now and then she’d hear a “dig in” mantra that she couldn’t quite pinpoint. A country girl at heart and self-professed plant nerd, she’d install seasonal container plantings as gifts for her sister-in-law in Charlottesville. Naturally, her work caught the attention of friends, who asked if she’d do their planters too. Her response? “I’m an OT. I’m a mom. There’s no way I’m starting a business,’” Trible recalls saying. But she couldn’t shake the yearning—and that recurring voice telling her to “dig in.”
With encouragement from family and friends, she finally took the leap last August. Her husband’s advice was clear: “If you’re going to do it, do it big, and do it right.” Trible posted three pictures on Instagram under the name Gilded Lily Designs, thanks to that friend who dreamed up the name. Within days, a client reached out asking for something “more elevated than just pansies and a boxwood.” One planter turned into 17, then she introduced professional photography, and suddenly Trible had a thriving business. Today, she serves 157 clients across central Virginia.
Mixing thrills and spills in hot colors
gives this container a summer vibe.
Annuals and ivy create a snug collar around this spiral topiary. The Versailles planter adds weight and elegance.
Trible’s use of colorful annuals with a striking evergreen creates a focal point on a terrace. An olive jar–inspired container adds extra drama.
Brit Trible, Gilded Lily Designs
“We’re the finishing touch,” Trible explains, comparing her work to putting on earrings or hanging art after furnishing a room. But her approach goes far deeper than simply arranging plants in pots. And just as she invested in her patients as an OT, she does the same with her Gilded Lily clients, considering everything: the scale of the entryway, the home’s architectural style, the client’s personality, light sources, and maintenance capabilities.
“I’m not going to put some giant black Versailles planter on a beautiful Cape Cod with a small entrance,” she says. “We really care about the style of your home and your personal style, too. Are you more funky? Do you want color? Are you traditional?”
Trible sources containers from all sorts of places—France, Spain, and Palm Beach—offering everything from classic French planters to quirky contemporary designs. Her team—now expanded to meet growing demand—installs seasonal plantings and offers subscription services, returning twice or four times yearly to refresh containers. They also coordinate with landscapers and irrigation specialists, installing discreet drip lines to maintain that elevated aesthetic. She serves a myriad of needs—from the homeowner who wants one showstopper at their townhouse front door that takes them from spring to fall to the client who might have dozens of planters around a poolscape that are refreshed frequently.
The business has scaled dramatically. Last summer, Gilded Lily took on a 128-planter commercial installation for a $265 million mixed-use development in Midlothian. Trible initially refused, insisting she couldn’t maintain her quality standards on such a large project. She laughed when the lead landscape architect told her to buy three trucks—she had one at the time—but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Trible loves all her projects, but the relationships are what she treasures most, those reminiscent of her OT days. She trains every client on maintenance, sending detailed watering videos (“Treat me like I’m an idiot,” they tell her) and empowering them to become confident plant caretakers. “My favorite thing is when clients text me saying, ‘I used to kill everything. Now I’m a crazy plant lady,’” she says.
The transformation goes beyond aesthetics. Clients report that morning watering routines have become therapeutic. And there’s science to back it up, Trible notes—the neurological benefits of putting your hands in soil. “I feel like it’s a gift that I get to do this every day. That is my drug.”
“We’re not just coming in and doing that pansy-and-Dusty-Miller repeat,” Trible says. “We want to offer an elevated experience.” For this mother of three who finally dug into her own calling, it’s about more than beautiful containers—it’s about transforming spaces and empowering people to connect with the natural world, one planter at a time.
Window boxes and terrace plantings
mirror the pink and white awning of
this charming guest house.
Trible combines tropicals and annuals with expert help from Hazel, the happy assistant.
These white Versailles planters make
a clean, green and white color palette—with an occasional pop of purple pansies
This article originally appeared in the April 2026 issue.
