Muddy Trowel’s 2022 New Year Resolutions

2021 was another challenging and frustrating year for many, but within that murky water there have been signs of hope that things will get better. In that spirit, this year at Muddy Trowel we have been so heartened by the support and enthusiasm for our mission to help more people take up gardening. We achieved a lot in 2021: we celebrated our first birthday, delivered over 10,000 plants, launched 180 new products, got 150 5* reviews on Trustpilot, moved into a new central London office, made 5 great new hires, and we raised £1m led by Evergreen Garden Care and an amazing network of angel investors.

We want to keep our momentum in 2022, and solidify our commitment to the things that got us going in the first place– our commitment to keep things Simple, Sustainable and Joyful. Some of our commitments are resolutions we also held in 2021; we are building on our progress on these resolutions, and adapting others so they can be actioned most effectively.

Simple

With so many people entering the world of gardening for the first time in the last 18 months, it is important this year to continue to keep it simple as they develop their gardening skills. Therefore, we resolve to:

1. We will continue to demystify the gardening world (how’s your Latin everyone?) and make it accessible for even the greenest of gardeners
2. Continue to introduce new and exciting plants and more innovative ways to teach people how to look after them (e.g. with short video content, clinics)
3. Make it even easier for people to transform their space through launching new design-led services alongside our products

Sustainable

The whole U.K. gardening industry is starting to think about their wider environmental and social impact: from navigating the incoming ban selling peat-based compost in garden centres by 2024, to eliminating single use plastic, to thinking about where the plants in the U.K. originate from.

At Muddy Trowel, we have always had sustainability at the heart of our mission, with eco-pots from Elho (who manufacture plastic plant containers from recycled materials, using 100% wind energy for their manufacturing process), our choice of long-lasting perennial plants, minimising packaging, and peat-free compost. However, in 2022 we want to solidify our commitment to sustainability by:

1. Creating a 12 month sustainability action plan, implement quarterly reporting & working towards certifications that align with our mission
2. Investigate and action tangible sustainability wins e.g. reducing waste (water and physical) in our production process
3. Champion U.K. growers and suppliers whose sustainability values and commitments align with ours

Joyful

The act of gardening has been seen to have positive effects on mental health, as well as bringing joy to our native pollinators too. In order to maximise the joy, this year we want to:

1. Introduce our best collections yet, with more colour ways and a variety of sizes to maximise impact
2. We will lead and support initiatives to bring the joy of gardening to under-represented communities, and help our plants bring joy to as many people as we can
3. Expand our delivery areas to allow more customers to transform their outdoor spaces

Our overall commitment stays the same as it was in the beginning – we want the gardening conversation to include but also move beyond the more ‘traditional’ gardeners, to create a space for people to take up gardening no matter what size of outdoor space.

We are so proud to have the support of all of you as Muddy Trowellers – and ask you to keep us honest on our resolutions in 2022. Please also let us know who needs Muddy Trowel next! Know a community garden that needs an extra pair of hands? A city or town that needs the joy of Muddy Trowel? Someone who has an outdoor space to transform but does not know where to start? Please let us know!