Everything is coming up daisies for the recently reconfigured Grower's Exchange. The owners left Carytown and moved their operations online, where they now run a container-pot consultation business under the newly trademarked name Gone to Pot. Co-owner Kenan White says container pots are the perfect plantings for urban gardeners or green thumbs with minimal space, but they're also handy for homeowners who want to make the most of their yards with what little time they have available.
The process is as easy as visiting an online gallery of design ideas, selecting one and having the Grower's Exchange send out the corresponding flora from their Charles City County flower farm or buying a design and getting the flowers yourself. Look at the plans, follow the directions, water and then watch your garden grow.
"You still get your hands dirty, but it's sort of paint by numbers," says White. "We give you the plans, but you have to do the work — we don't want to take the gardener out of gardening."
For stepchildren of Mother Nature who don't really have "the touch," Grower's Exchange landscape designer Joie Patterson recommends on-site consultation and landscaping. But she wouldn't recommend it for designs using less than $100 of flowers. Labor costs are $30 per hour for design, installation and cleanup. Materials are extra. Most all-inclusive jobs average between $400 to $500, but large estate work and more ornate container gardens can reach into the thousands, says White.
Tropical flowers are trendy, and West End gardenistas have shown a penchant for the Preppy Pot — a combination of chartreuse and pink flowers, says Patterson. For more information, call (888) 829-6201, ext. 3, or visit www.thegrowers-exchange.com.
