As you pull up to Brian and Tyler Gainey’s 1940s bungalow in Revolution Park, you’ll see a hand-built planter box that spans the length of the deck. The black fence contrasts with the vibrant greenery and bright florals that dot the yard. The lawn loops around a flowerbed that offsets the light gray of the stamped concrete patio.
It’s the physical foundation for what’s become one of Charlotte’s most active social media accounts for gardening: Gardener in Love. It grew from a COVID-lockdown hobby into a way to showcase their passion for nurturing shrubs, flowers, and trees—and each other.
“Gardener in Love is a culmination and outward view of the best of us,” Brian says. “We want this to be a view of our relationship and our life, and we also want that to be front and center because it’s so important to us.”
Brian, 36, and Tyler, 32, launched the account in 2020, and, as of July, they’d amassed more than 6,500 YouTube subscribers and 6,300 Instagram followers. They’re not precious about the venture, either—they’re willing not to just get their hands dirty but let their thousands of followers see the dirt and the funny moments that go with it. A video they posted to Instagram in May, for example, shows Brian pressure-washing their shed with Tyler’s caption: “He calls it yard work. I call it character development.”
Tyler works full time as a global sales strategist for a tech company, while Brian runs Grove Haus, an advertising agency that works primarily with gardening and lifestyle brands. They typically spend 10 to 15 hours a week on Gardener in Love, which features photos and reels of the pair’s travels to places like the Chelsea Flower Show, as well how-to videos and sponsored content that highlights their favorite gardening products.
When the Gaineys purchased their home in December 2019, the backyard was a blank canvas. They saw the potential for a timeless, European-inspired garden where they could host friends and neighbors. “It’s the kind of neighborhood where people stop by to chat about the garden and share stories from their time growing up in the neighborhood,” Brian says.
Their path to homeownership was quick. Brian and Tyler met online just nine months prior, on what Brian calls a “very pretentious app” called The League. They matched and began a long-distance relationship. Tyler, who lived in Raleigh, came to Charlotte on weekends. Soon those weekends turned into Thursday night-to-Monday morning visits. “By that point,” Tyler says, “it felt like I lived here anyway.”
What began as Brian’s project grew into a joint effort. “We try to stay in our lanes,” Brian says. “Tyler’s background in dance shows up in the flow of the garden design, and I handle capturing most of the images and video with my background in production.”
Their garden expanded, and followers became as invested in their flower beds as they were in their relationship. Brian and Tyler shared their wedding plans and photos of the ceremony, which they held at the North Carolina Museum of Art in April 2023.
Soon their account caught the attention of Hugh Crump, who was planning to open a new shop in Second Ward called Gardens on Green. Crump tapped the pair to serve as creative consultants and assist with the grand opening in April. They helped with the logo and the layout of the shop, and Brian continues to manage its social media through Grove Haus.
The Gaineys’ own garden continues to evolve, too. Every January, they take on a new project—this year’s was adding the peninsula garden and stone pathway—and they always design around a few simple rules. Tyler recommends working with four colors: green, yellow, red, and blue. “Yellow might just be a really sharp chartreuse,” he says, “while blue may appear as icy green foliage.”
They’ve also learned to find lessons in the failures. During their wedding ceremony, the Gaineys planted a yellow Radiant Spirit rose in a clear vase with soil from both of their childhood homes. They transferred it to their home garden, and when they returned from their honeymoon, its blooms were full and fragrant. But after they shifted its position in the garden, its leaves fell. “We’ve had a lot of shake-ups this year, like Brian quitting his job and starting the agency,” Tyler says, “but now it has completely rebounded and is about to bloom again.”
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