Let it roll - or how it all began

About three boys and their favorite color: green

The three boys are called Jan, Torge, and Derk, and their preference for all things green definitely comes from the fact that they all grew up in the countryside. As true nature lovers, they were able to play in the dirt, climb trees, and watch their surroundings as the seasons came and went, bringing plenty of color to life. They experienced barren, leafless trees transforming into green and vibrant forests and loved that this happened 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 did not turn green, then colorful, then brown, and then gray again over the course of the year; they simply stayed gray and dreary. That had to change!

Derk finally got everything rolling: In his shared apartment kitchen, he rolled seed bombs and distributed them in his neighborhood. It was a lot of fun and quickly became very successful. Although Hamburg is still more of an urban jungle than a rainforest, small, colorful islands emerged, and some dreary side streets suddenly looked much friendlier. Derk was thrilled and inspired Jan and Torge one mild summer evening. The City Gardeners had found one another.

What happened next can be told quickly: The three boys rolled and threw quite a lot of seed bombs. So many that more and more people soon wanted some too - primarily to throw them and watch them grow, because hardly anyone wanted to roll the seed bombs. So the three City Gardeners continued rolling and giving away seed bombs until their pockets were literally empty. That was the moment they began charging money for them.

• In 2011, the first Seedbombs were sold on Dawanda (now Etsy).
• In 2012, their first online shop launched.
• In 2013, Die Stadtgärtner presented their products at trade fairs for the first time and could also be found in stores from then on.
• In 2021, the three boys - by then joined by a few more boys and girls - launched their new, fourth shop.
• 11 million Seedbombs have been sold so far: enough seed bombs to cover 550 soccer fields with flowers.
• Jan, Derk, and Torge have naturally been working full-time for Die Stadtgärtner for several years now and are still incredibly happy about every single order. They are very, very grateful that they are allowed to do all 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 are still just as they were and probably will never change: Everything the City Gardeners and their team get involved with is a passion project. Just like the seed bombs that started it all and are still handmade from purely ecological raw materials (soil, clay, and seeds).