B&B Buys Tilly

Ellen C. Wells

Bower & Branch, the online marketplace for independent growers to sell trees and plants direct to consumers, acquired a company called Tilly, an online landscape design firm, with the goal of vertical integration. In other words, customers will be able to shop for trees and shrubs online, and then have their landscape professionally designed for those plants. Folks could even get it professionally installed, too.

“The future of this industry is online and our investment in Tilly supports that in a big way,” stated Don Eaton, Chief Executive Officer of Bower & Branch in a press release. “In addition to their professional expertise and leadership, Tilly brings value through its proprietary technology and access to new markets, serving our business model and grower network well.”

Established in 2019, Tilly is a female-founded, online landscape design company servicing homeowners and landscape professionals throughout the U.S. Developed by a nationally recognized landscape architect, Tilly’s innovative remote-first approach matches customers with a vetted and trained landscape designer. The result is a custom plan designed to meet specific needs and environmental conditions. I’m thinking this is a bit like Angi, formerly Angie’s List, but for landscape and the service is conducted 100% online.

“Tilly has dedicated the last five years to mastering and scaling online landscape design. Following our customers’ lead, we are excited to solve their next major pain point—plant fulfillment,” said Alexis Sutton, Chief Executive Officer of Tilly. “An overwhelming majority of the homeowners we serve also want us to fulfill their plant orders, making this a significant growth opportunity. Tapping into Bower & Branch’s extensive grower network and curbside delivery service will allow us to seamlessly bring their design vision to life.”

Tilly’s CEO Alexis Sutton, CMO Sarah Finazzo and Design Director Cate Singleton will transition to Bower & Branch, with Alexis becoming President of the combined entity and focusing on the expansion of the PRO network across the country, and Sarah becoming Chief Communications Officer.

Bower & Branch was founded by Don Eaton while managing his family’s 175-acre farm in Pennsylvania. He spent years studying the industry and recognized the need to digitize grower inventories for sale online. Bower & Branch specializes in trees that can’t be shipped in a box, but are instead
delivered via an extensive trucking network. Their product includes bulk plant orders and trees up to 30-ft. tall, which are delivered from their grower network to the homeowner’s curb. GP