Biggest Trend Grows Into a New Hobby

Seattle, WA, November 14, 2013 --(PR.com)-- “It’s the accessibility, anyone can do it,” says Janit Calvo, owner of Two Green Thumbs Miniature Garden Center, the company that first packaged and marketed the hobby for the masses. “The hobby is for every level of gardener, it’s a rich idea that can be enjoyed by new or experienced gardeners. It is so creative, people want to do more and more of it.”

With almost 6000 miniature gardening fans on Facebook, 3000 Twitter followers and 10,000 subscribers from all over the world, TwoGreenThumbs.com has been leading the hobby as the source for gardening in miniature. They provide the much-needed information, ideas, inspiration, plants and products for what could be America’s next favorite pastime, certainly it is the cutest.

“Don’t just take my word for it, look at what happened last summer.” Calvo’s brand new book, Gardening in Miniature: How To Create Your Own Tiny World completely surprised the publisher, Timber Press, as the presales exceeded all expectations. They triggered a second printing of the book before receiving the first, a month and a half before it was officially launched on July 15th. The book is now on the Best Books for 2013 list on Amazon and holds the #5 position in the garden category.

Such an endearing idea doesn’t come without a miniature helping of controversy in the garden world. Fairy gardening made it to Today’s Garden Center’s Top Ten Most Hated Trends last spring. Some of the more daring garden bloggers have had the courage to step up and call the trend out for putting plants and gardening far behind the houses and accessories, but isn’t a garden about the plants and growing them?

“The gift industry took the fairy idea and ran with it because it is easy to create fiction out of resin; and the stuff sold like hotcakes because it appealed to children,” Janit explains. “But people are tiring of the junk, it is not sustainable and will become tomorrow’s landfill.”

Janit details the frustrating effort of trying to show the manufacturers what her customers really want, as her license contract with a local garden/gift importer came to a close in June of this year. “It was very surprising considering what was happening with the Gardening in Miniature book at the time. My customers and fellow MGs [miniature gardeners] are adults, something the gardening and gift industries are not getting. We know exactly what this new hobby needs because we are miniature gardeners and our customers are always telling us what they need. We are considering new options with other manufacturers, we are just not seeing the solutions for this new hobby in the marketplace yet.”

The garden industry has been labeling miniature gardening a trend for years, "but when my customers are coming back each season, year after year, for 12 years, then we know we have something that cannot be called a trend, it is a hobby," Janit continues. “It’s endearing, educating, grounding, personable and very, very creative. We are naturally drawn to miniatures, nature and gardening, so it’s a perfect fit and it’s for everyone.”

Janit Calvo is the author of Gardening in Miniature: Create Your Own Tiny Living World by Timber Press. She founded Two Green Thumbs Miniature Garden Center, www.TwoGreenThumbs.com, and is based in Seattle Wa.

Contact Details:
Two Green Thumbs Miniature Garden Center
Janit Calvo, Owner, Founder
Author of Gardening in Miniature: Create Your Own Tiny Living World
Mailing Address Only: 10204 12th Ave S., Seattle, Wa, 98168
Main Website: http://www.TwoGreenThumbs.com
Office Phone: 206-352-0494
Office Hours: 10am through 4pm, Monday to Friday, or by appointment.