Directed by Demi Castro and Damian Romay, the new TV movie Let Love Grow is a sweet romantic drama that tries to entertain, but because of its low stakes, fails to engage the viewer. The plot is fairly generic, revolving around landscape artist Evie and paleontologist Ryan, who meet by chance, get off on the wrong foot but slowly start to develop feelings for each other. Ryan’s daughters try to play matchmakers, unaware that Evie may have to leave for Japan.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In ‘Let Love Grow’?
Evie is a landscape designer. She works on her plants diligently and is delighted by the sight of gardens. So far, she has only worked on indoor landscaping, helping people’s indoor plants bloom. Suddenly, a chance to work at something way beyond her wildest dreams falls into her lap—a chance to design the legendary Pearl Street. It would be pretty hard to get that project as there are many bidders for it, and Evie has no design project the size of a big garden to show the committee. She runs Blue Spruce with her best friend, Claire. Claire is pregnant, and so the burden is now on Evie to set the small projects aside and find a larger garden to work on, one that could satisfy the City Council’s eligibility to revamp Pearl Street.
Ryan, a widower, is the father of two beautiful kids, Aria and Zoey. He, too, has some challenges at his job. He is a paleontologist, but not the kind you would imagine. Most of his job is spent behind a computer cataloging the finds made by the field operators. He is not that happy with his job, but he has moved into a big house for the kids and needs to work hard in order to get a promotion. His friend, Will, at work, is Claire’s husband, which later becomes a way for Evie to fix her problem of finding the garden project.
Evie and Ryan run into each other and have a sweet quarrel about a plant. He wanted to buy it for his daughters, and Evie wanted it for one of her projects. The quarrel is resolved only when his daughters step in, and they are immediately mesmerized by Evie’s charm. Ryan doesn’t admit it to himself, but he, too, grows fond of her even though he had too much on his plate. Living alone wasn’t particularly easy, and he missed his wife. The only thing that made him happy was his daughters. He was so caring and could lay down his life for them but when it came to pragmatic stuff like what his daughters actually needed, he had very little idea. There was a big garden in his backyard that was just sitting there ready to be made into one of the most beautiful gardens in the area. Aria and Zoey covertly contact Evie, hoping it will start a romance between her and Ryan.
Does Romance Bloom Between Evie And Ryan?
The first meeting between Evie and Ryan wouldn’t be called a smooth ride. They had quarreled over a plant, but now Evie was heading to his house. She didn’t even know that he would be the one to open the door and that it was actually his daughters who had contacted her. Ryan, too, is surprised to see her. He understands what is happening when he realizes that his willful daughters have called her behind his back. He loved them, and it wouldn’t actually hurt to have Evie take a look at the unkempt garden.
Evie is filled with excitement at the opportunity to design such a huge garden, but Ryan is not too keen on her ideas. She sees its potential, and he is just going along with everyone so he doesn’t make her daughters sad. Ultimately, Ryan is freaked out by Evie’s energy and decides to call it quits with the whole garden makeover. He was busy with his job as it was and didn’t want to burden himself further with Evie’s project. If he could just trust her with her expertise on the subject, he would not have been this impatient. Ryan actually felt uncomfortable when things weren’t totally under his control, which is why he let Evie go.
Evie would have made the garden a playful paradise for his daughters, but she was in need of a job now that Ryan had rejected her proposal. What had happened was that the Council member who had told Claire of their chance to redesign Pearl Street, needed to see large-scale garden work in order to help them pitch Blue Spruce to the board. Evie had no such project under her belt, and hence Ryan was her last chance. But she didn’t want to seem too desperate in front of a man who had so vehemently refused her proposal. Claire makes Evie try once, just to see if he agrees. Pressured into submission by the cute daughters, Ryan agrees to give Evie a chance. With each visit, they both get comfortable around each other, and Aria and Zoey play their roles in bringing them together. The kids were excited but didn’t know that adult life is full of stress that can dominate any budding romance.
Why Couldn’t Ryan And Evie Be Together?
Although the kids were playing cupids, they did not know Evie was already in a relationship. Evie was already under pressure because she had been asked to move to Japan by her boyfriend, Mark. Mark had gotten a promotion, and he was being asked to move to Japan. Evie, presently, is torn between staying for her upcoming Pearl Street meeting with the City Council and going to Japan with Mark.
While Evie is dealing with her issues, Ryan’s promotion has taken a toll on his work-life balance. His superior wants him to devote himself to the job, and his daughters are starting to bear the brunt of it. Calling Gigi, their grandmother, does help, but without Ryan, the girls grow extremely sad. When Ryan is constantly falling short at the job owing to the time spent with Evie in the garden, he gets demoted, and tensions arise between them.
‘Let Love Grow’ Ending Explained: Did Ryan And Evie End Up Together?
The stressful environment meant that Evie and Ryan had to take a break from the garden work. They both had the task of sorting their lives out. Ryan was forced to choose between extra time at work and more quality time with his daughters. Evie, on the other hand, has to confront Mark, which she does. She comes clean to Mark and tells him that their relationship has lost its passion, and on top of that, she cannot accompany him to Japan. Unexpectedly, Mark agreed with her and was glad that they were on the same page. Evie felt happy, but her concerns were not over. The City Council could not give her the Pearl Street project if she couldn’t show any of her large-scale work. She had almost completed her work in Ryan’s garden, but unfortunately, he had told Evie to stop because he was too overwhelmed after the demotion.
It looked as if Evie had lost the project, but when she returns, she finds an apology letter from Ryan. She could now finish the garden and show it to the council members. She reaches out to a board member, and even though he tells her that other agencies were being consulted for Pearl Street, Evie’s speech about her own vision makes him change his mind, and he agrees to see her garden. Ryan’s family and Evie, along with her friends, finish the remaining work on the garden together and make it ready to be shown to the board members. They are awe-struck by Evie’s genius and give her the Pearl Street project. The apology by Ryan, given through the same thyme plant he and Evie quarreled over when they first met, had melted her heart. Ryan had made peace with getting demoted if it meant more time with the family. With no more hurdles to cross, Evie and Ryan finally end up together, bringing joy into Aria and Zoey’s lives.
