Five must-visit houseplant shops
Forest’s Deptford store in London.
This week I am handing over the reins to Green Rooms, the roving pop-up plant market and online marketplace for plant lovers. Check out Green Rooms' website to find details of their upcoming events and shop from a handpicked selection of indie sellers.
At Green Rooms we have long been encouraging people to buy from the brilliant indie plant shops that we are lucky to have around the UK. Here are 5 of our must-see picks:
Three very different offerings make up the Conservatory Archives portfolio in London; a botanical exhibition space in Hackney, a totally irresistible plant shop in Clapton packed with quirky plants, and in Middleton Mews there lies a truly unique plant shop-come-garden centre, converted from a Victorian stable building. Outside is a stunning courtyard garden for some serious outdoor inspo. Inside the stables you'll find the beautiful and unusual plant varieties that make Conservatory Archives' shops so special.
A mainstay of the booming Bristol plant scene and a beautiful escape from the busy streets, this stunningly styled houseplant shop has a hidden bonus garden centre out the back. It is staffed by incredibly knowledgeable plant lovers with a particular penchant for epiphytes, making this a firm favourite of ours.
Run by a family with a long history in horticulture, Forest is a south London stalwart, with shops in Deptford and East Dulwich. Deptford's offering is a large Railway arch packed to the rafters with plants, flowers and beautifully curated homewares. The owners, mother Fran and daughters Alice and Maddie have all written some of our favourite houseplant care books, including The Green Indoors. Their brand new Dulwich shop has just opened its doors. It is a delightful space making the most of original brickwork, stable doors and large skylights that flood the green-filled space with light. Plus you can grab a coffee and enjoy it sitting among the plants.
A real shot-worthy shop in Manchester's Central Hall with a peachy palette of terracotta wash, a perfect backdrop to the abundant greenery. Don’t miss the plant health store section signposted with its neon signage, packed with soil and substrate refills, plant feed and watering accessories.
Something a little different… this plant shop is housed in a lovely Victorian greenhouse on the grounds of Earsham Hall in Bungay, Norfolk. The greenhouse is packed with unusual and ever-popular plants and there is a beautiful walled garden selling outdoor plants too. Run by George (of course), a plantsman through and through, who studied holistic horticulture and worked as a garden designer for more than 20 years.
Last but not least...
We couldn’t give our top pick of houseplant shops without a special mention of the brilliant Urban Jungle Norfolk & Suffolk where you can while away the hours eating and drinking amongst the plants, not forgetting the picture-perfect Pilea in Frome, Cowell’s Garden Centre in Newcastle, a garden centre with an utterly brilliant houseplant section, and N1 Garden Centre nestled among the rather lovely terraced houses in Dalston, North London with its incredible selection of unusual plants.
What's your favourite houseplant shop and what makes it so special? Do drop me a line and let me know!
This blogpost was taken from The Plant Ledger, my email newsletter about the houseplant scene. You can read the rest of the newsletter here.
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