Scrolling through your social media feeds, there’s a decent chance you might notice a large increase in images of houseplants, especially among your friends and family in their 20s and 30s. Houseplants are a decorative item that never goes completely out of style, but a recent resurgence of interest in plants – fueled in part by social media – is not only making news but also impacting retail markets. Lexington has long been home to several great nurseries and garden centers whose inventory includes a variety of houseplants, but in recent years it has gained at least three non-nursery retail business that are flourishing as a result of the houseplant revival.
Of these shops, Forage, on North Limestone Street near the intersection with Loudon Avenue, has perhaps the strongest focus on houseplants. Established in Louisville by florist and houseplant lover Jamie Fairman in 2016, the small oasis for houseplant lovers opened its second location in Lexington in September 2018, followed more recently by its third, which opened in Denver late last year. The shop, packed with greenery, has an inventory that includes a wide variety of houseplants, along with a curated selection of pots, candles and greeting cards.
Forage manager Tabitha Bishop. Photo by Bradley Quinn
Tabitha Bishop, who manages the Lexington location, was an early loyal customer of the shop. A lengthy conversation about plants with Fairman in the shop’s early days turned into a job offer.
She takes pride in the community the shop shares with its customers.
“Forage was started because Jamie wanted to create a community out of her love of houseplants, but she wanted it to be more,” Bishop said. “People wouldn’t just be buying plants – it would be a safe place for people to spend time.”
The shop is geared toward new “plant parents” and longtime houseplant obsessionists alike.
“We have lots of ZZ plants, Sansevierias and pothos – all easy plants to care for – for those who are just starting out, but we also try to keep more challenging plants in stock for those who have plant experience,” Bishop explained. “This year, we’ll also be receiving a monthly shipment of rare plants for people looking for unique varieties that aren’t often found locally.”
Forage is very intentional about its inventory, and the community-minded business is committed to supporting other small businesses and the environment, as well as to providing living wages. Plants are sourced from a regional nursery that is committed to providing a living wage for its employees. Clay pots sold in the shop come from an Ohio artist who sources her clay less than a mile from her studio; ceramic pots are handmade by a small family business in Australia. Potting soil and plant food sold at the shop and used in the plants are organic and produced by a small company, and the business also features wall planters made from recycled milk bottles.
As an extension of its retail arm, Forage regularly hosts live music events and workshops on anything from moss wall creation to terrarium construction to flower arranging. The business also provides installation consultations for homes and businesses, where its in-house plant experts evaluate the light, traffic patterns and aesthetic of a space, and recommend plants – or even moss walls or living walls – that will thrive in that space; they can also deliver and install large orders.
Forage plans to expand this year, with a move to the marketplace in the developing GreyLine Station, across the street from the shop’s current location. With additional space and more natural light, the environment will be even better for plants. Along with the move, the staff is planning new workshops and more special events to welcome the community.
When asked about her favorite part of managing Forage, Bishop – who estimates she has about 75 houseplants at home – said, “Other than taking home more plants, my favorite thing about working here is the customers. Our customers are the kindest, nicest, most genuine people. It makes my whole day to see many of our regular visitors.”
Melanie Williams opened the home decor boutique Story in the Woodland Triangle in 2018. Photo by Bradley Quinn
Melanie Williams has owned the Woodland Triangle boutique The Black Market since 2000. Known for its eclectic clothing, jewelry and shoes, the shop has long been popular with fashionable Lexington residents. In mid-2018, Williams opened Story, The Black Market’s next door neighbor and sister store featuring on a variety of home decor and gift items, with a strong focus on houseplants.
Williams explained that while houseplants weren’t part of her original vision for the store, she soon shifted its focus to meet the demand of her clientele.
“I started out by stocking some amazing planters, but they didn’t look right without plants. So I got some plants from local nurseries and ended up selling some of them with the pots – soon I realized I was selling as many plants as I was planters,” she explained. “That’s when I decided to find a wholesaler to work with, so I could not just use plants as examples but actually offer them for sale.”
Williams puts the greatest care into the plants she stocks. While many shops that sell houseplants order a variety of plants from a nursery, allowing the nursery staff to make the selections, Williams makes the trip to Cincinnati to pick out each plant herself, ensuring that every plant at Story is up to her exacting standards. This extra step also allows her the ability to special order specific plants for her customers – a service that most plant shops do not offer. Story’s inventory includes a variety of decorative planters, and the staff will also pot plants for its customers.
“We’re a one-stop shop in the boutique world,” said Williams. “You can come in to buy a gift for someone, and we have the plant, the pot, the card and the dirt, and we’ll put it all together for you.”
The home decor collection at Story not only includes plants and an array of colorful and unique planters and hanging pots, but also a special selection of furniture and specialty rugs, colorful prints and pillows, unique kitchen tools and accessories, and clothing and other items for babies and toddlers. While mostly new items, the inventory does include carefully selected vintage pieces. Everything at Story is chosen to complement everything else in the shop.
“Our lives are so busy and we’re so overstimulated that we are striving for simplicity in our homes, but we still want beauty and uniqueness in our decor. Finding a way to incorporate all of those things is what I want to do here,” Williams said.
Candace Reichbach opened her National Avenue vintage and consignment store, The Domestic, in November, 2018. Photo by Bradley Quinn
As it turns out, houseplants are a nice addition to vintage decor, which is why Candace Reichbach decided to add plants to the lineup at The Domestic, the vintage furniture and clothing store on National Avenue that she runs with her partner, Teige O’Brien.
A few months after opening in November 2018, Reichbach brought in a small selection of houseplants to complement the wide variety of vintage planters in the shop. She explained, “Teige and I have plants all over our home and, as a vintage store, we had empty planters in almost every booth. Being that I already have experience with houseplants, it only seemed natural to have them in the planters in the store.”
Reichbach continued, “Plants add life to a space. People come to our store looking to fill needs for their home, and plants have become one of the items on that list.”
Though experienced with plants, Reichbach, said she has learned a lot since adding them to the inventory at The Domestic – with a little help.
“One of our vendors had a store in Philadelphia where he sold plants for a while, and he has really helped to broaden my base of knowledge regarding what plants do well under various conditions,” she said.
O’Brien and Reichbach, who also owns the North Limestone businesses Fleet Street Hair Shoppe and Varnish Nail Shoppe, are adding an Airbnb to The Domestic in 2020. The property will be outfitted with goods from the shop – including houseplants – and their guests will be able to purchase items directly from the property.
The wellness benefits of houseplants have long been tossed around.
Claims about their “air purification” qualities can largely be traced to a well-publicized 1989 study by NASA, which suggested that certain indoor plants might provide a natural way to clean the air of cancer-causing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The conclusiveness of those results – at least, as they might apply to a home or office, as opposed to the sealed space station that the original study was designed for – have been called into question in recent years, with scientists in a 2019 Atlantic Monthly article pointing out that somewhere from one to 10 houseplants per square foot of space would likely be needed to have a perceptible affect on the air quality of a home or office.
But science-based health benefits aside, many plant enthusiasts will tell you that their plants improve their environment, and even make them feel healthier and happier. In a world where we increasingly interact with – and through – screens, the benefits of bringing the natural world into our personal space are far from negligible.
When asked about what might be driving the reinvigorated interest in houseplants – especially among young adults who are just starting out with their first apartments and homes – the local plant aficionados we spoke to all seemed to be on the same page.
“It feels good to be out in nature, and people have renewed their interest in bringing nature inside because of that feeling,” said Williams.
“Part of the recent popularity is the result of people realizing that they want to nurture something,” said Bishop. “Lots of young people who don’t have children have pets – and now also have plants.”
For those who are ready to bring a plant into their home – even self-titled “brown thumbs” who may have had bad luck with plants in the past – all three recommend taking a good look at your environment and finding a plant that will appreciate those conditions.
“You have to find the right plant for the space that you have,” said Williams. “You have to look at your lighting, the temperature and humidity in your home – the whole environment – and pick a plant that will thrive there.”
And, as Bishop said, “...you can experiment with plants. Even the most professional-seeming plant people on Instagram and YouTube have lost plants. You don’t always see that, but it definitely happens to even the best plant parents.”
But, even if you lose some, it’s still worth it. “I don’t know anyone who has ever regretted buying a plant,” she said.