Our 3 Step Process

Step 1

gardenUP is designed to simplify gardens starting with a few simple questions about your garden;

Step 2

Based on your answers, we filter all our professional designs so you can browse the ones that fit your environment and your needs;

Step 3

Once you find a design you like, you can connect with a local gardenUP partner to get your plant list and get your garden!

Our team

Our team has extensive knowledge in the green industry – we know plants. More than that, we know all the right people and work closely with the best and biggest local growers, designers, garden centers and landscapers to ensure that our platform is optimized for you, the user.

Steve GaklisFounder
Steve has been part of the green industry his entire life. He owns and operates Nursery Direct, one of the largest horticultural distribution and finance groups in the eastern US. He previously co-owned and managed multiple horticultural distribution centers (HDC’s), growing operations, retail operations, and real estate in Canada and the Northeast as part of a family business. Olympus Partners purchased family operations in 2004.
Will HopkinsSales & Marketing
Will Hopkins has over 20 years experience in the green industry having held different management positions at retail garden centers. He holds a B.S. in Plant and Soil Science with a concentration in landscape design from the University of Vermont as well as a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from the University of Melbourne in Australia.
Joe DonnellanOperations
Joe has spent the past 10 years in marketing & operations and gained a deep understanding of technology as a tool for any small business. He previously worked at a Home Depot garden center where he quickly understood inefficiencies and short-comings of the green industry.

Our story

gardenUP is a story that began more than 75 years ago. Back then our grandfather, George, was a rugged, industrious entrepreneur who shipped fruit & produce directly from the farm to Boston area customers; he named his company South Fruit & Produce. Years later his son, Arthur, shipped green goods directly from the farm to New England area customers. He named his company, Gold Star Wholesale Nurseries.

Today, Steve Gaklis is the 3rd generation to deliver green goods from the farm directly to you with gardenUP, and he learned the value of quality, customer service and value from his father and grandfather. With every garden design in our catalogue of existing designs gardenUP seamlessly connects home dwellers to our local horticultural growers and our professional landscape contractors to make beautiful, functional outdoor living spaces more accessible and affordable for all.

Our vision at gardenUP is to give our customers value, beauty, form, and function in every garden we create, deliver, and install with our local and professional partners