About Us

I started mowing lawns in 2000 as a side business in high school to support myself through college. I hung up hand-made signs in hair salons and the grocery store and ran ads in the local newspaper. The unfortunate part of this business idea was that I did not own a lawnmower. I borrowed a push mower from a family member and hauled it house to house in the back of a 1973 pickup, sweating, thirsty, aching, and nearly wearing my legs out the first couple of months. Soon, I was gifted the use of a family member’s credit card to purchase a riding mower in exchange for making the card payments and, of course, a good deal on their mowing! I jumped at the opportunity and my legs and back were thankful.

 

The next spring I was perusing the classifieds of the Springfield News Leader when I came across a professional mowing company for sale. Though my interest was piqued, I wasn’t sure how I could pull off such a purchase, having just recently paid off the credit card that bought my one and only mower. This company had 3 commercial mowers, a truck with a snowplow, trailer, and all the tools I would need – I had to try. I did the only thing I could think of and went to the bank to anxiously stand before a loan officer, knees shaking with nervousness. To my incredible surprise, he said there might be a way to make it work! I received an SBA loan to purchase the mowing company and felt like I was living the American Dream. The beginning was very hard, barely hanging on between rounds of invoices, running out of money for fuel only to receive a check from a client that day to get me through to another.

 

As time went on, I got better at managing money and the business as a whole. I began using my studies in biology and chemistry to understand the grass I was cutting and the life it lives. I wanted to be the best at anything I did in life, so I put all my education and effort into making my client’s lawns the best on the block.  Through the years, I realized my interest was rapidly growing to include landscape design and construction, as well as plants and turf health. I was able to use the skills and knowledge I had gained through the years to complete numerous projects, both small and large in scale.

 

Backing up a bit: In 2001 I met Michelle, and we married in 2003. Michelle became a teacher, which provided an opportune schedule for extra help in the summer! Every summer she would help me with landscaping projects, and as we worked together my passion for design, building, plants, and helping others grew. My desire to help homeowners get the highest quality of work fueled a second dream for us both – to open a garden center & landscaping supply store. Michelle’s ideas, inspiration, and determination teamed up with my industry insight and overall vision brought her out of the classroom and our dream to life when Grass Roots Garden Center & Gifts opened in March of 2018.