Who we are
About the Owner
My name is Carly Mitchell Kellar and I am the founder/owner of Unruly Roots. I grew up in Miami, Florida, a wild, imaginative child with an unrelenting desire to build my own business. I could usually be found barefoot outside, working on some kind of grand scheme including starting a pineapple farming operation, a homemade stationery business, a butterfly garden, or countless lemonade stands (sometimes made with sour key lime juice…. resourceful, but decidedly not good). While in high school, I saw the devastating effects of the 2008 recession on the job market and decided to pursue the most practical college degree I could find to ensure job security. A few years later, I graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from Auburn University and subsequently spent 10 years leading research & development projects in the aerospace defense industry. While my engineering career was rewarding, in my free time I kept gravitating towards creative hands-on endeavors like DIY home projects, watercolors, and pottery.
When my husband Adam and I purchased a home on almost an acre in Atlanta in 2018, we began building our vegetable garden and transforming our overgrown, high-maintenance landscape through lots of backbreaking work and trial and error. After many failures and many, many dead plants, we realized that just driving to the big box stores and buying whatever looks interesting is not a smart strategy. We made every mistake possible, including planting vegetables at the absolute wrong time of year, accidentally planting invasive species, and planting beautiful tropical plants that had no chance of surviving in our Georgia climate. We wasted SO much time and money. Rather than becoming discouraged, I dove deep into learning about native plants and urban farming in order to engineer my own productive, beautiful garden landscape from the ground up. Through my research, I discovered the fascinating worlds of permaculture, regenerative gardening, habitat restoration, companion planting, and kitchen gardening. I became totally hooked!
After witnessing the incredible transformation of our own boring, sterile, high-maintenance landscape into a thriving, buzzing ecosystem that helps feed both our little family and native wildlife, as well as the amazing impact of working with nature on my mental and physical health, I realized I needed to help others experience the same joy. I was inspired to help build local food systems and support native biodiversity without shaming people for also wanting nice lawns and interesting ornamental plants. I became a garden consultant because I envision a world where we can all grow our own abundant kitchen gardens and flourishing natural ecosystems— one where our children spend less time behind screens and more time in the dirt. I envision a world where we can all get back to our beautiful, wild, and Unruly Roots!
