Indoor plants are back in demand, especially low-maintenance varieties that don’t require constant care. To meet the growing trend, Kelly Green, owner of Southern Green (facebook.com/southerngreen1), offers unique species and containers as an art consigner at Tootie and Tallulah’s Annex, a gift, art and home consignment shop in Berkley owned by Jeri Brand. These boutique plants have been well-received. “People can give them as a gift or use them as a statement piece in their own home,” Green said.
When her air plant glass orbs began selling like hotcakes, a terrarium bar was born. Though she said generic varieties are readily available, her customers wanted something more, and now, they can make their own arrangements.
“You can make dramatic centerpieces and seasonal decorations with live plants. … I love a live centerpiece. It makes a real statement.”
— Kelly Green
While some prefer their own containers, others purchase one or more for their projects. “Buying a couple of orbs and plants and working on the arrangements themselves is becoming a staple of the store,” Green said.
Larger sizes are among the current trends, and the workshops she offers also have been popular. One of them shows how to make a centerpiece with live plants that customers can reuse and recycle.
“You can make dramatic centerpieces and seasonal decorations with live plants,” Green said. “Some can actually last forever with plants like sansevieria that need very little water. I love a live centerpiece. It makes a real statement.”
Organic Origin
One reason for the rising popularity of indoor plants as a design element is people have become more educated about do-it-yourself projects, according to Megan Kellogg, owner of Traverse City-based Darling Botanical Co. (darlingbotanical.com), who also has a terrarium bar at her shop.
Though many customers want a plant they can’t kill, most require maintenance. “There are still little things required that are good to pay attention to, like the light situation,” Kellogg said. To find the right fit, she also asks about a person’s style preferences, like traditional or modern, which helps to narrow down the selection of indoor plants.
Though hanging plants have a long history in the home environment, glass containers are among the recent styles, and macramé is having a resurgence, too. Kellogg said floor plants have evolved due to greater access to more modern planter styles.
Today’s containers also can be displayed on the wall for a pop of green that adds an unexpected twist with glass orbs, wall planters or little air plant hooks.
People seem to be digging the idea of making their own creations. The “Sunday School” workshops offered at Darling Botanical feature plant topics that change seasonally, while the terrarium bar is a big part of their business.
“It’s something all ages can enjoy,” Kellogg said. “We’ve had a 3-year-old birthday party and a 50-year-old birthday party, all on the same day. It’s a cool way for people to enjoy their creativity.”
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