Hi Plant Loving Friends,

 

I started in the horticulture industry when I was 19 years old in 2007. At the time I was working at Foertmeyer and Sons Greenhouses and a full-time college student. Succulents back then weren’t nearly the craze they are now, I saw them as the perfect starting point with their low care and easy propagation. So I started propagating succulents when I could and my business just grew from there!

Everything really began small in a little greenhouse at my parent’s farm in Cardington, Ohio. I was selling plants at farmers markets and seeing the joy succulents brought people. Being able to share this passion with others really fueled me and the growth of the business. Overtime, my collection of different and unusual plants from around the world multiplied. One crop paid for a greenhouse, that greenhouse paid for another, and so it went until 2015.

In 2015 Liz agreed to marry me and joined the business. Together we worked to expand, focusing on wholesale customers and the online store but always dreaming of a magical place full of plants and quirkiness. Our dreams became reality when we suddenly had the chance to purchase The Ranch in Fargo, Ohio. The property was previously Fargo Herbs and had a beautiful old schoolhouse that we immediately fell in love with. It was definitely a long shot for us, freshly married and with a young business, but we went for it!

We went all in on this new phase of our business and Groovy Plants Ranch was born! We moved our home and business from Cardington to Marengo, Ohio. For the first year of GPR I was mostly growing and running the store myself while Liz continued teaching. It was a challenge, but our hustle paid off and in 2016 Liz decided to join the business full time so that we could focus on growing Groovy Plants Ranch.

Now we live and work at The Ranch with our two little girls and two Australian shepherds.  Over the years our team has grown much bigger than just our family and collectively the Groovy Plants Ranch team has over 100 years of Horticulture experience!  It has been such a blessing to get to work with PLANT EXPERTS to grow even more than we could ever have dreamed. With the help of our team we have been able to expand our plant collection, create our own plants (have you seen Begonia ‘Canary Wings’?), and build our business to the plant destination it is today welcoming people from all over the country.

The part of our business that I didn’t expect was you all! Without your support our family business wouldn’t be nearly as magical. Hearing about how plants or your visits to Groovy Plants Ranch have impacted you warms my heart and makes it all worth it. If you’ve been to The Ranch before, I hope you loved your visit(s). And if you haven’t I can’t wait for you to see what we’ve been growing.

 

Stay Groovy & Plant Kindness, 

Jared, Liz, & the whole Groovy Team