Ready-planted flower boxes with imaginative creations: Anne Baltes-Schlüter, Alice Sare Özserin and Laura Jassoy transformed with their start-up “The Plant Box” the studio of “The Lions’ Den” into a colorful oasis of well-being. Mit Judiths Hilfe wollen sie jetzt Deutschlands Balkone erobern! In the interview, Anne and Alice tell us what sheep have to do with it...

Anne: I lived in the country for five years, where gardening was really easy. I drove to the garden center, parked in the driveway at home and then unloaded everything in peace. In Berlin it was almost impossible: take the train to the hardware store, where the selection was usually poor, then turn the balcony into a battlefield while planting... (laughs) No, that just wasn't fun. So I never had really nice plants on the balcony and looked at a lot of very gray balconies. I wanted to change that!

Alice: As a trained horticulturalist, friends constantly asked me: What would you recommend for the balcony? What is allowed in the sun? What do I have to water and how? That's when I realized that it's a big topic for many people, but that no one really knows anything about it and doesn't have the capacity to deal with it in detail. Nowadays everything can be delivered. And then I thought: There should be something in this area too! And: It has to arrive at home so perfectly that you don't have to do any work with it. That was the idea for “The Plant Box”.

Alice: You can buy ready-planted flower boxes from us. We have various creations that are color coordinated and each exude a very special artistic charm. In addition, they not only bloom beautifully and smell wonderful, but - like our “Bee Bee” box, for example – they attract insects.

Anne: It was important to us that our buyers really didn't have to work with it, but that a perfectly finished box arrived at their home. And if you already have the box, you can use our refill service. Our “Plant Lover Club” is completely new: Here you get five creations per year as a subscription model. We notice that it is really well received. Once you get used to the balcony always looking great, you won't want to give it up again.

Anne: There just weren't any that were really nice and were sustainable. So we had to develop it ourselves, which took an incredible amount of time. Balcony railings are not standardized, so a universal bracket was needed, for example. But the result is impressive: the box looks super timeless and is also durable and weather-resistant. The plastic is made from 100 percent recycled vegetable oils, which was very important to us. And there is a drainage strip built into the bottom of the Plant Box, which prevents rot and saves the plants from drowning.

Anne: It was incredible and we are sooooo happy with the combo! As a team, they came across as really nice – and they complement each other really well. We had to keep the deal secret all along and are happy that we can finally talk about it now.

Alice: We are also so happy that Judith is on board because we wanted to have an investor on board. A lot of women work for us and we really value their skills. Yes, we're already pretty much in the spirit of girl power (laughs).

Anne: Total! When we founded the company, we heard from men: How do you want to do that? Since we all have children, it was said that we certainly couldn't work full time and then people couldn't invest in us. It was definitely harder to find investors in the beginning. But now that we're further along, we're more interesting to many as an all-female team.

Alice: At first we planted our plants in plastic tubes, but at some point they decompose and microplastics end up in the soil. We definitely didn't want that. At some point we came across sheep's wool. It is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulfur and ensures that plants are nourished for a long time. It is also biodegradable and regulates moisture.

Anne: And we also use them as packaging. This means you can maneuver the creation into the Plant Box without any crumbs of soil.

Alice: Not at all! We have winter creations and in November and December there are also Advent wreaths. In winter, the balcony becomes an extended home decoration: you look out - and it's nice!