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Behind the Scenes at Plaid

Behind the Scenes at Plaid

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Here at Plaid, we are on a mission to eat healthy and be happy! This is the mindset behind Plaid's very own community garden project. The idea sparked from our Design Director, Jackie Wynia, who spotted the HYGGE trend while traveling.  Hygge (Pronounced "hoo-guh") is a Danish word that means creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people. After studying the little book of Hygge (pictured below), Jackie wanted to bring a little Hygge to Plaid after reading that having a community garden can help lower stress and increase happiness levels.

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Along with a sense of Hygge, many employees simply wanted make a healthy, organic salad or grab a snack from their very own garden space rather than reaching for a donut or pack of crackers. Others just wanted to learn more about gardening in a community setting. 

Carl Reichenbach (Category Director) has his own special reason for wanting a garden:

"For as long as I can remember, my grandfather Roy brought a giant box of beautiful, delicious, home-grown tomatoes to our family beach vacation. I look forward to taking up this tradition this year with a variety of tomatoes from our Plaid community garden - ALL I planted was tomatoes! 5 different varieties! YUM!  Here's picture of Roy in his garden (below)."

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                  We think you will make your grandfather proud, Carl!
 
Starting a community garden is no small feat and it's true what they say; it takes a village :-)

We want to give an UBER big thank you to Super Sod (specifically, Ross Davies) for helping us along our journey and collaborating with us on our garden project.  From planning the size of the garden, to coming up with ways to keep deer away from our precious produce, Super Sod has also been so helpful with suggestions and advice!
Speaking of advice, we've learned a lot along the way that we'd like to share.  Here are some tips and tricks from Suzanne who is part of our Inspiration Design Team:

TIP 1: Labeling your plants is important, especially if you're a beginner.  Some plants look very similar to one another so it's nice to have clear reminders.  Garden stakes are easy to make out of craft sticks and your wood burning tool. Paint with FolkArt outdoor paints for added durability and color.

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TIP 2:
Plant hearty Zinnias and Sunflowers in your vegetable garden so you have flower cuttings all summer and fall!

TIP 3: Make a simple inexpensive tomato stake with 3 bamboo poles you can find at your local garden store and jute. Set in a triangle and wrap the jute around each pole and then around all three poles, repeating this process until the poles are secure. Wrap jute around the outside for support for the plant (see below).
 
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We've come so far with our little community garden and will be posting updates here periodically to let all of our Plaid friends know how it's going. If you have any garden advice, fun family memories, or funny garden sayings, please post in our comments section below. We'd love to hear from you!
 
Here's a little slideshow of the progress we've made:
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It all started with a blank patch of land behind our building.

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Thank you Super Sod for all your help! And the fancy delivery truck!

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Prior to our delivery, we marked off the spot/dimensions of all our garden beds so we could position our supplies accordingly prior to the build.

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These are 4 x 8 cypress raised garden beds. Perfect for a uniform look and super durable to withstand outdoor conditions.

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All our HUGE bags of mulch and soil! Soil3 is 100% natural, organic soil that helps plants to establish a healthy root system. Learn more about it and delivery options HERE! We can attest that this soil is AMAZING!

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With our garden beds filled with soil and our deer fencing in place, we are ready to plant!
And Voila! The start of our little gardens.

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Sincerely, the Plaid Garden Team
Posted: 5/11/2017 1:11:17 PM by | with 0 comments

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