You Don’t Need a Green Thumb
Meet pop-up food gardens, instant installations that bring edible life to new homeowners' blank backyards.
People who say they kill every plant in their care, or busy folks who just can't find the time, can now turn to Chez Collette Staging and Photography to deliver a miniature farm in a day to the MD-DC-VA-WV region.
Pop-up food gardens can be as small as 8' by 4' for single family homes, the size of one raised bed; half that size for apartments; or much larger for aspiring pop-up farmers ready to dig in with help from an organic gardening veteran.
Beds are filled with soil and compost to nourish a mix of herbs, fruits, vegetables, and flowers; a combination of seeds, seedlings, and young plants. Designs are curated to each home owner's food preferences, yard size, planting season, garden supervision (hands-on/hands-off), family size and lifestyle, and other parameters. Gardens are built as no-till as possible, pulling in nearby organic matter (leaves, twigs, mulch, grass clippings, etc.) to feed the soil long term. Homeowners can also get a simple compost pile built for them, so they can deposit household food scraps year round, and create their own compost to feed the soil year after year.
Depending on size, pop-ups are installed in a day. New homeowners who just closed on their properties can even have their gardens ready for move-in day, if the timing works and the weather spirits cooperate.
Today's health-conscious homeowners want a move-in ready food garden, just as they want a move-in ready home. And they want their food organic and fresh, just as demand is increasing for more natural and green elements inside the home. As a staging company, COLLETTE helps property sellers and real estate agents prepare and market homes for sale, staged to sell faster and above asking price. With pop-up gardens, COLLETTE offers outdoor staging beyond the typical furniture-in-and-out transaction.
"I predict that we'll see manicured lawns being replaced by edible landscaping to feed us in times of rising food prices, and for the pure enjoyment of our families."
While staging includes the outside of the property as well, curb appeal doesn't typically include an organic backyard garden. This special perk is in response to a new generation wanting greater access to fresh, nutritious, harm-free food; increased interest in urban and suburban micro-farming; and the shift to locally grown and farm to table, a movement driven by communities, not the government.
But keeping plants healthy does require attention and care, even by those who swear they kill plants just by looking at them. No problem, says Deirdre Bagley, who has been experimenting with organic farming and chickens for a decade on a few rural acres in Virginia.
"Pop-up food garden clients are educated on their garden plant selection, and trained in their care. We're also happy to engage children and their friends in the creative process, encouraging them to get their hands dirty; and coach new gardeners from seed to plate."
Gone are the days when you need a green thumb to grow your own food. COLLETTE pop-up food gardens start you off on a green foot, and the rest, can only be described as delicious.