It is a blessed sort of work, and if Eve had had a spade in Paradise and known what to do with it, we should not have had all that sad business of the apple.

~ Elizabeth von Arnim, 1898

Renee Izadi looked out her 5th floor window in Corporate America and watched as the landscapers installed masses of new spring flowers.

"That's what I'm going to do someday," Renee remarked to a co-worker." I want to work in the yard all day, every day, planting flowers, instantly changing the landscape."

Rene's co-worker found the idea peculiar, to say the least. She couldn't imagine Renee exchanging her neatly pressed linen dress, coifed hair, and stylish shoes for a pair of jeans, work boots, and a straw hat. Had she known that Renee grew up on a small farm in rural Texas, she wouldn't have been so surprised. "I even know what the name of the company will be: grassroots girls. The only thing I'm missing is the right business partner..."

Three years later, spring came around again. Renee was still leaving her home in the dark hours of morning to pursue a career which was becoming more difficult and less rewarding. After work one day she went out for a walk to clear her head. The time she had to work in her own garden was so limited that it was almost frustrating. Just down the street she stopped in front of her neighbor's house, whom she had known for seven years. The garden was in full bloom. Masses of iris and peonies, dianthus, and geraniums were sprawling from the carefully maintained beds. It was beautifully orchestrated chaos and Renee was certain she had never seen anything prettier, but she was even more certain she had found a business partner. So she put her sales experience to work and knocked on Nancy's front door...

Nancy Wallace grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, between the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas. When she moved to Georgia ten years ago, she battled the clay from the very beginning and learned first-hand how different East Coast gardening was from West Coast gardening. She may as well have been on the other side of the planet. But after years of trial and error and a little know-how, she became something of a Southern plant geek.

The former legal secretary was a stay-at-home Mom, whose children spent most of the time in the dirt with their mother. So when Renee knocked on Nancy's door, she was hesitant at first. Nancy and Renee soon realized how parallel their lives were: both had been married about the same length of time, their children were the same ages, and they both enjoyed gardening more than anything else. After some consideration, some unconventional child-care arrangements, and a brand new red tiller, they decided to work together over the summer. Within two months they found themselves in the landscape business and their clients began lining up.

It was hard work, and while they both found enormous satisfaction in what they were doing, a project came along which made them realize that they wouldn't be able to keep up the same level of activity into their 50's. The project involved clearing a wild wooded area. They were unwilling to turn any project away, but they soon found themselves in the middle of a giant wasp's nest - literally. During the course of the clearing, they encountered no fewer than five wasps nests which sent them scurrying for cover, over and over again. A few days later, Nancy developed a serious case of poison ivy requiring medical treatment.

So when clients began asking for fountains and trellises, Nancy and Renee realized that their landscape business was too limiting and that their sources were too scarce. That was when Renee announced: "We need a garden store!" Nancy's reply: "We do?" After weeks of searching for retail space, it became obvious that the garden store was a far greater stretch than either of them had imagined.

That was before they met Adam Schreiber, former NFL football player with the Atlanta Falcons, whose real estate office was located in the recently renovated Knox House on the Town Green in Duluth, Georgia.

With some gentle persuasion, Renee's Texas charm, and Nancy's ability to articulate the vision, Adam agreed to arrange a meeting with local developer, Dough Spohn, who had personally overseen the restoration of the Knox House. Mr. Spohn determined that the grassroots girls garden store would be a perfect complement to the renovation of downtown Duluth, a project he has been working on for years, and which is now coming to pass. And Adam Schreiber graciously relinquished his office space to Nancy and Renee.