Plant rentals greening up the Treasure Valley
By Diane Panetta
Photography by Martha Mendoza
It doesn’t take an advanced biology course to know that plants are essential for survival on Earth. Along with being a critical design element in any garden, the value that plants add to our outdoor environment is obvious. However, the same might be argued for plants living inside our walls, as well. To put it simply, plants make everything better, no matter what space they’re living in. Just ask Diane Panetta, owner of Growing Wild, a short-term plant rental business in Boise, Idaho.
Diane moved to Boise in February 2017 with one goal in mind: to build a greenhouse and grow some beautiful plants. In January 2018, she did exactly that. With a long history of playing in the dirt, Diane couldn’t wait to have the space to grow some unique plants and offer them to the public. In addition to her select greenhouse grown collection offered for sale at the Eagle Saturday Market and Madeline George Garden Design Nursery, Diane decided to also offer year-round plant rentals. “I love the way just a few plants can transform a space. And I love the way people respond to them. There is just such a natural human affinity towards plants. They can add so much life and warmth just by sitting quietly in the right spot.”, Diane claims. In Growing Wild’s rookie year, plants were rented for weddings, corporate functions, prom, graduation, stagings, and pairing dinners at Madre Boutique Taqueria. Growing Wild offers design consults, delivery, setup, and pickup, to the Treasure Valley and beyond.
Wedding planners and event coordinators have enjoyed being able to add such lively, natural elements to their clients’ events. Whitney Fredin, of Whitney Fredin Events, says “I love to bring the outdoors into my events. Live plants provide an inviting texture and ambiance you can’t get any other way. Growing Wild makes it so easy to add fresh greenery to my events with delivery and pickup, helpful consultations and site visits. Growing Wild is my favorite secret weapon for event planning!”
From palm trees to fiddle leaf figs, Growing Wild offers a large variety of lush foliage to dress up any room, indoors, or out. Plants range in size from 4-inch pots to 10-foot trees, and everything in between, with prices ranging between $4 to $75 per plant, depending on the size and variety. Renting plants is a great affordable alternative to purchasing for events. It is also an eco-friendly option, since plants are reused after each event, creating little to no waste.
When the plants aren’t busy “working” at events, they’re soaking up the sun in their 30’ x 45’ greenhouse that Diane built with family and friends last winter. This space is available to rent to local photographers looking for a unique location with incredible light. Growing Wild also makes house calls for potted houseplants in need of some extra attention, and possible upgrades into larger pots. And just like her plants, Diane wants to keep Growing Wild growing. She is currently in the process of developing a monthly plant rental/maintenance program for individual residents’ rooms in senior care and assisted living facilities, continuing to advocate that plants really can benefit every space, and person around them.
Instagram: @GrowingWildGreenhouse
diane@growingwildgreenhouse.com
970-217-5183
