TAKE ROOT
Evora Mendes
TAKE ROOT is a beginner-friendly gardening kit designed for busy urban spaces. Shaped by the pace and limits of city life, it challenges the idea that growing food requires land, experience, or perfect conditions. Instead, it embraces small-scale, DIY growing that fits into everyday routines, making it easier for anyone to start.
THE PROBLEM: In a busy city, access to green space is limited, and gardening often feels out of reach. Many people don’t have backyards, and shared outdoor areas can be difficult to access or aren’t meant for growing. There is a lack of approachable tools and resources, which can make the process feel closed off to beginners. Because of this, alternative approaches begin to emerge that work within the constraints of the city rather than against them.
THE INSPO: TAKE ROOT is influenced by guerrilla gardening and DIY culture. These approaches come from working within the limits of the city instead of waiting for ideal conditions. Guerrilla gardening in particular challenges ideas of ownership and access by using overlooked or unused spaces to grow food. This mindset shifts gardening away from something that requires permission or expertise and toward something that is self-directed and adaptable.
The TAKE ROOT urban gardening kit is designed as a complete, compact system that supports the full growing process. It includes a soil pod, trowel, seed packets, plant markers, an instructional booklet, and a screenprinted packaging box. Each element works together to guide the user from planting to growth, while still leaving room for experimentation. The materials and forms are simple, making the kit feel approachable and easy to use.
GARDEN TOOL SET a compact set of essential tools made for small, everyday growing.
STARTER SOIL PODS pre-portioned soil pods that make planting small, easy, and mess-free.
SEED PACKETS three difficulty levels to grow with: lettuce mix, Cherry Belle radishes, and Red Robin tomatoes. Selected for quick and reliable growth.
PAPER POTS + PLANT MARKERS biodegradable paper pots paired with simple markers to support and keep track of growing plants.
PACKAGING hand screenprinted magnetic close boxes with bold details that highlight the tactile, handmade quality and DIY feel of the kit.
INSTRUCTIONAL BOOKLET A step-by-step guide that walks you through the growing process, from planting to harvest. Built around the “grow anywhere, grow everywhere” mindset, it encourages you to work with any space while keeping the process simple and approachable.
TAKE ROOT is about making growing feel possible in a busy city. It works within the limits of small spaces and everyday routines, showing that you don’t need ideal conditions to start. The kit keeps things simple and hands-on, encouraging people to grow anywhere and, over time, grow everywhere they can. It pushes against strict ideas of what gardening should look like, opening it up to be more flexible and self-directed.
TAKE ROOT is something small that can grow, shift, and expand depending on who’s using it and where it ends up.
