In the face of high inflation, this couple’s plant keeps growing

“My Economy” tells the story of the new economic normal through the eyes of people trying to make it, because we know the only numbers that really matter are the ones in your economy.

The stress of opening a small business is enough to make most people lose some sleep. But for Ricky Barosa and Larry Groves, a pandemic couple who opened the Growing Groves Plant Shop in Davis, California, together, getting over the hump took less than a year. When they opened in April 2022, Groves says, they were working “27 hours a day, 8 days a week.” Now though, the couple can afford to take planned days off. 

“We can definitely recharge and come back to the store refreshed and see what we can change or update,” Barosa says. 

The couple makes regular updates to the interiors and inventory at their store. Amid all the fun changes, high inflation has forced them to raise prices. But Groves is committed to keeping their plants affordable. 

“Plants are a luxury but they shouldn’t be a luxury price,” he says. “A dollar on top of whatever the price of something was before isn’t going to impact as much as other places, where something was already pretty pricey.” 

To hear more of Groves and Barosa’s story, click the media player above.