Roll out gardening kits™.
Brandon Carbary is combining his interest in business and his experience as a landscaper with his love of native plants in a brilliant way. Tasked with finding a mesh fence covering to hide aluminum fencing for a national golf event, he thought why not use the opportunity to showcase native plant landscape designs? After several design attempts, he landed on an even bigger idea: Ecoplantia. The premise? Get native plants to as many people as possible!
Ecoplantia is in the business of selling roll out garden kits™. Each roll out garden comes with a biodegradable paper template to lay on the ground to guide your planting. The kits also come with landscape-ready plugs to start your native plant garden. It's simply perfect for someone just starting with gardening. The big idea, Brandon explains, is once people get started, they will enjoy it and want to plant more. Doug Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park effort agrees.
Homegrown National Park has teamed up with Ecoplantia to market the roll out garden kits. Brandon explains “that’s when things really took off!” Brandon is now leaping to meet the challenges many new successful businesses face: keeping up with the growing demand, pun intended!
Ecoplantia’s business and nursery are located in Frederick, Maryland, a few minutes from the historic downtown. A large garage and adjacent field house the business, a small retail nursery, and as of this winter, a couple of hoop houses for growing plants. Using sustainable practices, the nursery proudly states it is neonicitinoid free. The business is located behind one of Frederick’s popular brew pubs, Monocacy Brewing Co.
As Brandon and I chatted, the conversation turned to how to meet both the large demand and such an ambitious goal. We talked about how native plants have really had a moment over the past several years. There are more on-line sources of native plants than ever, Doug Tallamy has reached tens of thousands of people, perhaps more, with his message about the need and yet, typical garden centers carry upwards of 80% non-native plants and a drive through of any neighborhood shows native plants are still the exception. Brandon believes getting native plants into people’s hands, whether straight species or cultivars, is so critical. Once people have that ’aha’ moment, a particular butterfly backlit by the rising sun, or a bird balancing on the tip of a goldenrod stem eating seeds, they will get hooked on native plants and want to learn and garden more. As for those roll out garden kits, the Ecoplantia team is filling the last orders for fall, accepting pre-orders through winter for spring shipping and madly preparing for the spring rush.
Stop by and perhaps combine the trip with a visit to downtown Frederick and its many shops and restaurants. You can also check inventory ahead of your visit. Not planning to be in Frederick? You can shop at Ecoplantia’s on-line nursery. Ecoplantia. They are on to something big!
Making gardening with native plants easy.
Happy gardening.
