The great gardening rebrand

A gang of upstart new gardening businesses are tapping into the world’s collective plant addiction, and design and branding is pivotal to their success

My mum knows the Latin names for – at a conservative estimate – every plant on the planet. You’ll be out for a walk, or at the pub, or just minding your own business watching TV and she’ll suddenly interject: “Look! That’s an unpronounceablus latinnameus!”, or words to that effect. She’s been doing this as long as I can remember and I’ve totally failed to absorb any of the knowledge. To put it in perspective, me and my boyfriend have collectively killed a whole forest worth of plants, and I still couldn’t tell you their Latin names.

Older generations of gardeners, like my mum, know practically everything about the arcane art of plant care. But an audience of younger enthusiasts are finding new ways of tapping into knowledge – including apps, plant influencers, and a raft of brands using design to attract plant lovers. Interest has boomed in recent years, as evidenced by newcomers including houseplant provider Patch Plants, plant subscription service BloomBox Club and plant marketplace Sproutl. All are tapping into this new demographic.

“Covid really shone a light on the fact that there is this enormous group of people who are really interested in this world, but are typically working full-time,” says Anni Noel-Johnson, co-founder of Sproutl, which sells plants, pots and accessories sourced from garden centres and nurseries in the UK. “They have busy lives. They’re digital natives. And they’re used to the delivery standard of online experience. So it’s about providing a way for them to get involved earlier, rather than having to wait 10 to 15 years when they’ve got more time on their hands.”

Patch Plants photography
Patch Plants photography
Top: the Sproutl ‘sprout’ symbol, created by design studio Omse; Above: images courtesy Patch Plants

As Noel-Johnson says, Covid prompted many of us to bring more greenery into our homes, but the renewed enthusiasm for plants was happening long before lockdown. Hollie Newton, Sproutl’s chief creative officer, describes plants and gardening as the “absolute antidote” to the stress of modern life. “When I was doing 80-hour weeks in advertising, there was that moment where you’d water a tomato and switch off, and the brain can do its thing in the background and it soothes the soul,” she jokes.

Digital-first businesses like Sproutl and Patch not only look completely different to ‘heritage’ gardening brands, they behave differently as well.