Backyard brainstorms

October 10, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Inventors solve home and garden problems

McClatchy Newspapers

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

To anyone who’s ever sat in the backyard and brainstormed, Jill Plumb and Rob Lenney offer inspiration, even hope.

The two inventors struck pay dirt with their ideas for common gardening problems.

Their simple solutions with catchy names have garnered national attention and made their products hot properties.

“It’s been the most incredible year,” said Plumb. She once studied plant science at the University of California-Davis, and “to come back to plants at age 56 is an absolute joy. I never would have guessed this could happen to me at this time in my life.”

Plumb, a longtime high school and adult education teacher, wanted to put raised vegetable beds in her backyard, replacing much of the lawn. Her two grown daughters — one a teacher, the other a budding opera singer — no longer needed a play area.

But how to construct those wooden beds? The corners created problems; they never seemed to fit together quite right.

When she went back into her kitchen, the light went on.

“I put some napkins in the napkin holder, and it hit me,” Plumb said. “I literally started doodling on a napkin, working out the details.”

The MBrace was born.

After making that napkin drawing in January 2009, Plumb perfected and patented her invention — a set of metal brackets — before it debuted this year with the slogan “Simply embrace your garden.”

In her own yard, she tested MBraces with the help of Yolo, Calif.-based DeVoDa Gardens, a community-supported agriculture network that uses backyard gardens to raise produce.

“The irony is, I don’t like to cook, but I love having a garden,” Plumb said. “You can’t imagine the satisfaction I get from spending time in my garden. I just love to sit out here. A garden makes you slow down.”

Thanks to sales on her website and 30 Northern California garden centers, the MBrace is being used by thousands of gardeners after just one season on the market. Sunset magazine made it an editor’s pick.

Made of recycled sheet metal, the MBrace makes an instant perfect corner for attractive 16-inch-tall raised beds. Wood planks — such as two-by-fours or two-by-eights up to 12 feet long — slide into the brackets and are held solidly in place.

Peak Performance of Lodi, Calif., makes the MBraces, which are sold on Plumb’s website, www.artofthegarden.net. A set of four costs $165.

Plumb left her teaching job in March to devote herself to her invention. She’s now working out the details that will take the MBrace into major home-improvement stores and garden centers nationwide.

“I thought it would take us eight years to get to this point, not eight months,” she said. “It’s been a really fun thing.

“It’s not about selling them. It’s about people planting a garden. As a teacher, I’m used to making things fun and easy for someone else. Every time someone orders a set, I know someone else is sliding in some boards.”

GUTTERGLOVE FINDS FIT

To get to his breakthrough, Lenney started in the gutter — the rain gutter.

He and partner John Lewis owned a gutter-cleaning business. They continually ran into the same problem: gutters full of leaves and gutter guards that didn’t work.

In 2003, Lenney created the Gutterglove, which blocks out leaves, debris, even sand, and never needs cleaning. Stainless-steel mesh covers aluminum channels that let rain flow through the gutters while keeping everything else out.

Recently, Consumer Reports rated the Gutterglove Pro as the No. 1 professionally installed gutter guard it tested. Popular Mechanics also featured the product.

Gutterglove has several versions, starting with LeafBlaster at $5 to $6 a foot installed, to Gutterglove Pro, $15 to $20 a foot. The company also introduced a warmed Gutterglove IceBreaker that prevents ice and snow buildup. (Learn more and find installers at www.gutterglove.com.)

Now, Lenney is looking for an investor to help his Rocklin, Calif.-based company meet its new demands. “We hit the million-foot milestone last year,” Lenney said. “This year, we’ll sell close to 1 million feet. It’s been phenomenal.

“We are beating the odds during this uncertain economy. We just need an influx of capital to meet the increasing demand.”