Let it roll - or how it all began

About three boys and their favorite color green

The three boys are named Jan, Torge, and Derk, and their love of greenery definitely stems from the fact that they all grew up in the countryside. As true outdoorsy types, they were able to play in the dirt, climb trees, and watch the seasons come and go, bringing color to their surroundings. They witnessed the transformation of desolate, leafless trees into vibrant, green forests and loved that it continued year after year.

The three boys also grew up and started studying: Derk moved to Hamburg, Torge to Madrid, and Jan to Amsterdam. All beautiful cities, but something was missing: the seasons! The ugly wastelands in the cities didn't change color, then green, then brown, then gray again over the year; they simply remained gray and dreary. That had to change!

Derk finally got everything rolling: In his shared kitchen, he rolledseed bombs and distributed them around his neighborhood. It was a lot of fun and quickly became quite successful. While Hamburg is still more of an urban jungle than a rainforest, small, colorful islands emerged, and many a dreary side street suddenly had a much friendlier feel. Derk was thrilled and immediately infected Jan and Torge with the idea one balmy summer evening. The city gardeners had found each other.

What happened next is quickly recounted: The three boys rolled and threw quite a few seed bombs. So many that soon more and more people wanted some too – primarily to throw and watch them grow, since hardly anyone wanted to roll the seed bombs. So the three city gardeners rolled and gave away seed bombs until their pockets were literally empty. That's when they started charging for them.

• In 2011, the first seed bombs were sold on Dawanda (now Etsy).
• The first own shop was launched in 2012.
• In 2013, Die Stadtgärtner rolled out their products at trade fairs for the first time and were immediately available in stores.
• In 2021, the three boys – and now a few more boys and girls – are launching their new, now fourth shop.
• 11 million seed bombs have been sold so far: enough seed bombs to flower 550 football fields.
• Jan, Derk and Torge have, of course, been working full-time for Die Stadtgärtner for several years and are still incredibly happy about every single order and are very, very grateful that they are allowed to do all of this.

Some things have changed over the years. New products have been added to the portfolio, and new employees have been hired. But some things have remained the same and will probably never change: Everything the city gardeners and their team do is a project close to their hearts. Like the seed bombs , with which it all began, which are still handmade and made from purely organic raw materials.