Ups-A-Daisy.com is proud to join the garden blogging community with the addition of this garden blog. The Ups-A-Daisy is a unique and useful garden tool that was born from necessity.Like many gardeners Kristy Maniscalco found herself dealing with the biggest hassle associated with container gardening. Every spring she would haul her pots from storage and look for items around the house to fill the bottom of the pot with before planting. Traditionally gardeners have filled the lower portion of their pots with items like plastic bottles and foam peanuts. After gardening for 15 years one day Kristy asked her husband Jeff to make her an insert that would raise the bottom of her garden pots so she wouldn't have to fill them with foam peanuts or empty plastic bottles. To Jeff's surprise there wasn't a product like this on the market to deal with the garden dilemma his wife had.
Kristy and Jeff together with her brother Bill and his wife Gina set out to create the first prototypes of the Ups-A-Daisy to solve a problem of container gardeners everywhere. After a few tests and positive feedback from the green thumb gardeners around them Kristy and her team knew they'd created a useful garden tool that would benefit gardeners everywhere. The Ups-A-Daisy is more than a testament to the ingenuity of an avid container gardener, it is proof of what a cohesive family can accomplish when they pool their resources together. The Ups-A-Daisy planter inserts can now be found in garden centers across the U.S and Canada.
In 2004 Kristy and Jeff with the help of Bill and Gina formed Kianga Inc., to manufacture the Ups-A-Daisy planter inserts. Kianga (Kee-ahn-jah) is a Swahili word meaning "sunshine after rain." The name comes from a childhood memory that Kristy holds close to her heart;
"While growing up, my sister Susie and I were standing on opposite sides of the same street. Oddly, it was sunny on my side, but raining on Susie's. From that day on, we nicknamed each other Sunshine and Rain.
Sadly, my sister Susie died of heart disease at the age of 38, shortly before the launch of Ups-A-Daisy. I chose Kianga as the company name in memory of Susie, who had a tremendous impact on her family and everyone she encountered. Susie is also remembered through Daisy - Kianga's lady icon. Susie's favorite "cheap sunglasses" are shown hanging from Daisy's pants."
The Ups-A-Daisy team hopes to make this garden blog not only a showcase of the benefits of the Ups-A-Daisy planter insert and how it can be used in your garden but a resource that provides inspiration and help to the gardening community. Happy Gardening!
