Jared
Co-Owner
Perhaps most famously known for his weekly morning walk-through videos that grace our Instagram, Jared is one of the co-owners of Groovy Plants Ranch. He has a huge passion for horticulture and has worked in this industry for more than 15 years now. Jared worked at Foertmeyer & Sons Greenhouse for a decade and built this business during his time there. He would grow succulents to sell at markets around Ohio and at 19 he grew his first crop of seed petunias from his college balcony. Jared received his Associates degree in Landscape Design from Columbus State and started GPR in 2007 (originally as a landscaping company). His first "greenhouse" was a piece of PVC pipe lean-to off his parents house and was about 5 feet wide. After the first year he built a wooden structure that was pretty crappy and almost blew over one winter. Through much dedication and hard work GPR has become what it is today! Back in 2018 Jared bred and developed 'Canary Wings' Begonia which became an instant hit among the industry and won the Retailer's Choice Award at the Cultivate 2018 trade show which was a huge career achievement.
Liz
Co-owner
Mrs. GPR, Co-owner of Groovy Plants Ranch, artist extraordinaire, mother to Lili and Trillium and wife to Jared, Liz truly does it all! She pioneered starting our website and Etsy store and for years has navigated ways to make the customer experience even better. She runs many of the events that we hold here at the ranch and even sells some of her hand-dyed scarves in our Fargo Schoolhouse. This year, Liz was chosen by Greenhouse Product News (GPN) as one of the Forty under 40 which recognizes 40 industry professionals who are leading the way in the horticulture industry. It was well deserved and we’re so proud! Liz wears many hats around the ranch, and through her leadership and professional edge, she is paving the way forward for GPR.
Craig
Perennial Department Manager
With more than 30 years in the trade, Craig heads the perennial division of the business and is an absolute encyclopedia of plant knowledge. He's also just a super nice guy. He graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Ohio State in '84 and was the Perennial Grower at Millcreek Gardens from 1991 to 2010. Jared and Craig worked together at Foertmeyer & Sons Greenhouse and have been growing plants together for over 6 years! That's a lot of plants!
Natalie
Head Grower
Natalie is hands down the reason we have so many cool plants being grown here at the Ranch. She's the voice behind many of our Tiktok videos and our go-to person to ask to identify a plant because she 99% of the time knows the answer. Natalie has made some great strides in bringing our growing efforts more efficient and productive. Natalie is an OSU horticulture grad and long time GPR crew member. We couldn’t do what we do here at the ranch without her hard work and wealth of knowledge.
Emma
Lead Assistant Grower
Having just completed her masters in plant breeding from Texas A&M (an education that even Jared is jealous of!), Emma joins our team as the Lead Assistant Grower. She's a crucial team member here at the ranch and works so hard to keep new plants coming! We're lucky to have such a professional presence on our team.
Felicia
Retail Manager
Felicia is a true horticulture industry professional. With well over a decade of experience in the horticulture field, Felicia is a true natural. Her extensive technical plant know-how, paired with her insightful and creative approach to retail, make her an integral part of the operations at GPR. If you’ve come to the greenhouse and loved the vibe or were intrigued by the selection or cleanliness, you have Felicia to thank.
Carrie
Assistant Retail Manager
If you’ve visited the ranch within the last year you’ve surely seen Carrie, and probably had a great conversation with her. She has amazing energy, great ideas, is so helpful and is always in the best mood. She’s a long-time gardener and is always the first person to want to help you pot up your plant! Carrie brings years of retail and merchandising experience to the table, and helps us keep the Ranch looking exceptional all the time. We love the way Carrie demands a high level of customer service out of each and every one of us who work here.
Lauren
Shipping Manager
If you’ve placed an online order with us via our website or our Etsy store you have Lauren to thank for the care your plant(s) have received leading up to their departure from the ranch. In her current role, she oversees our shipping team and ensures all plants and pottery are packaged to perfection! Lauren has been on staff here at the ranch for a little over a year now and just graduated from Ohio Wesleyan with a BA in Botany. She has a sizable personal collection that features many Haworthia, Hoya and Philodendron!
Kelly
ECommerce & Marketing Manager
Kelly may be new to this whole plant thing but has been remarkably quick to learn. She is a Columbus native and graduated from THE Ohio State University (go bucks!) studying business and specializing in marketing. She joined our team last October and has done a tremendous job revamping the website and keeping it filled with green goodness. She’s the creative wiz behind our emails, advertisements and many social media posts. She may work behind the scenes but the work she does is instrumental in helping our business grow.
