Sunshine, Summer and Yellow Shirts

It’s been a busy summer here at GrowIt! headquarters. Actually you could say that GrowIt! headquarters itself has been on the road. We’ve been busy traveling across the country showing people what we’re up to, and connecting people to gardeners in their area.

Most recently, we took a trip out to the Washington, D.C. area, and had the chance to see our friends at Greenstreet Gardens! They’ve been uploading photos this spring and trying to help people with their plant problems. We also stopped by the Union Market in D.C. on Saturday and Sunday to hand out some free cucumber plants along with some t-shirts and good vibes! It was a great crowd, and we think we inspired some potential growers.

Earlier this summer we held a student contest. The idea was to see which students could get the most followers on GrowIt! We selected and interviewed five finalists, and then chose two winners from that group. Please join us in congratulating Brett Weiss and Sarah Swofford!

Brett is a student at Ferrum College, who had the awesome opportunity to intern with Disney this summer in their horticulture department. Brett sees the app as a cool way to find new plants and to show off his own collection!

Sarah is a student (and soon to be Graduate) at Texas A&M University. Sarah is what we would call an “ultra-fan” of GrowIt! as she was also a recipient of our student scholarship last fall. Sarah fell in love with horticulture almost by accident several years back. She’s now looking to find a career in the industry connecting people with plants.

Both of these students will be joining us in attending the Independent Garden Center Show in Chicago later this month. If you happen to be in attendance as well, please reach out to them and congratulate them!

As you may have seen throughout the summer, many brands have been holding photo contests on the GrowIt! platform. Some lucky users have actually won some hefty gift cards. Tomorrow, August 7^th, another contest begins. Suntory flowers is giving people the chance to win up to $100 for uploading a picture of a Sun Parasol Mandevilla onto GrowIt! with the hashtag #SunParasolRocks. It’s that easy to enter. While GrowIt! does not recommend any specific plants to all of its users, we do recommend that if you like/have a Sun Parasol Mandevilla that you upload it for a chance at some casshhhhhhh!

Do You Believe in Magic?!

GrowIt! Co-founder Seth Reed recently had the opportunity to go to Disney World with his family. The plants caught his eye for sure. This is what he had to say:

I’m going to take a wild guess that you’ve probably visited Disney at least once in your lifetime.  If you haven’t had the opportunity yet, you have to put it on your list.  If you have kids, wait till they are about 5, and then take them and their faces will light up in ways you could never have imagined! A few weeks ago I took my family including our 4 year old daughter, and we had a blast.

I’m from the Midwest, and the months of November through February just suck.  The weather is cold, the trees have no leaves, and generally speaking the landscape is kind of dismal – unless you’re one of those people that see 3 feet of snow as a winter wonderland.  Disney World on the other hand is in Orlando, Florida. I should have known better, I guess you could say I was expecting warmer temperatures, but the same grey landscapes. Boy was I wrong! I was pleasantly surprised how green and colorful it was for November.  Below I want to share with you a few ways that Disney makes plants magical…

1. Poinsettias in the landscape – I wasn’t expecting this to be a landscape plant, but it worked fantastically and provided Christmas color everywhere. Much better than how we use it in the Midwest. Poinsettias in large plots look way better than the lonely individual poinsettias we’re used to.

2. Amazing Green Topiarys – ok sometimes having just green creations is a bit boring, but when they are shaped as Disney characters, it brings an area to life! Too Cool!

3. Hanging Baskets – Even with limited options they tend do find something creative to show off.

4. Green is everywhere – everywhere I looked there were trees and plants to help set the mood, and transform the setting into the magical world that they want you to experience.

Perhaps Disney is already aware that plants make people calmer, or that plants provide better oxygen, or that the plant life provides a cooler temperature in the region, or that the shade extends the life of the concrete that it encompasses.  Whatever the reason, it appears that plant life is an integral part of the Disney experience, and that is all part of the magical plan.

I would love to hear comments about your own trips and the plants you saw.

-Seth Reed, Co-founder of GrowIt!

www.facebook.com/growitapp

www.twitter.com/growitmobile

www.growitmobile.com