The Lil’ Plant Shop: Radiating Positivity

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The Lil’ Plant

SHOP

RADIATING POSITIVITY

By Erica BuehlerKatie Pinette photos

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EVER

Sometimes it features employees

Whether y wondrous better spac regular wo with tools, Plainville, t “talk plants

“

We match

PLANTS to people’s lifestyles

”

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Y TOWN HAS ITS (NOT-SO-) HIDDEN GEM. it’s your favorite coffee spot; other times it’s the mom-and-pop store around the corner. Typically, the following: a personalized experience, a therapeutic element, and some extraordinary . In the heart of Plainville resides such a place: little in size but huge in dedication.

ou’re a first-time plant parent or a monstera deliciosa master, you’re always welcome at the plant sanctuary that is The Lil’ > Plant Shop (with the “greater than” sign indicating its bigger, e at 8 East Main Street). The 1,500 square feet is home to around 70 different kinds of plants, rkshops, a sunny patio seating area, and a one-of-a-kind, pot-it-yourself workbench, complete soil, and various accents to create your perfect houseplant. Sitting full-sun in the center of he large blue-and-green sign welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds to come in and .”

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Unlike your typical flower stand or home garden center, The Lil’ Plant Shop is unique in the individualized experience it offers those who visit. If you’re looking to spruce up your home (pun intended) or give a gift from the heart, you can find your perfect plant and pot, marry them yourself, and get a few free tips on how not to immediately kill it upon arriving home. You will be told, without hesitation and no matter the plant, all the specific care requirements from sunlight to water to estimated size. The owners and operators take pride in helping their customers understand and care for their new additions.

Already profoundly charming and unique, The Lil’ Plant Shop being a family-run business certainly adds to its appeal. Jeff and Pat Eleveld have been working in the world of horticulture for more than 30 years, each contributing the knowledge and creativity that makes the shop so special. Jeff, also known as “Jeff the Plant Guy,” as seen on the title of his book, How to Kill a House Plant, found his passion for plants at an early age. “Nine years old and 364 days, it was just a plant, had no interest to me whatsoever. One day later, I was a plant fanatic, and I just couldn’t collect enough of them.”

The dedication of wanting to bring joy and knowledge to any and every customer is apparent in the Elevelds. They’ve taken a passion for plants and

“...you can find your pmarry them yourself, aon how NOT TO im upon arriving home.”

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erfect plant and pot,

nd get a few free tips mediately KILL IT

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“EVERYONE has a grjust have to figure out wh green your thumb is.”

not only turned it into a popular and profitable business, but are doing exceptional work in teaching people the art of being good plant parents. “We match plants to people’s lifestyles,” says daughter and store manager Carli. “I have a lot of customers that come in… and they fall in love with the way that the plant looks. I’ll have someone fall in love with a Peace Lily who’s really more of a cactus person.

Until you get the hang of learning different plant styles, you kind of have to go with what matches your life. And we do that. There’s no such thing as a ‘black thumb.’ Everyone has a green thumb, you just have to figure out which shade of green your thumb is.”

Jeff adds that “you can buy a plant at whatever grocery store, but they don’t really tell you how to

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een thumb, youich shade of

take care of it. That’s where we’re different. We’re not just going to say ‘you have to water it once a week and it’s got to have this light,’ we’re going to sit down and spend fifteen minutes with you and explain.’”

Plants and people have a genuine symbiotic relationship, and that’s where horticulture therapy comes in; Jeff’s been working as a

horticulture therapist for more than ten years. “I work with 87 assisted living communities, and I go in every month and bring them a new program on horticulture.” Jeff explains that some of the residents he visits have many plants, while some only have a few, and some kill them literally as soon as they get them. “They get a plant and they take it home and they kill it, and the next month I come back with a

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“It’s heartening to hear

LOVINGLY, and with

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new plant and new program, and they take that home and they kill it,” he chuckles. “But that’s par for the course, being that age. As people get older, they tend to be forgotten, and I come in and I treat them like regular people. I give them interesting programs, I challenge their memory, I ask questions to get them to speak about their experiences. It has been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.”

The Elevelds are optimistic that more and more people will develop an interest in horti-culture, as the “unplugging” and “descreening” movements continue to grow in populari-ty. “Plants are having a sort-of resurgence,” Jeff says. “People are seeing the value of plants as more than just an architectural piece in the home - cleaning the air, collecting dust, providing joy, being something to nurture and care for.” He mentions that being in a home without any plants in it feels particularly cold, to which Carli adds that “plants create a warmth that you don’t get from anything else.”

Perhaps the most important lessons the Elevelds teach (or try to, at least) are patience and understanding. It isn’t necessarily about turning average people into plant experts, but teaching people the value of listening, learning, and practicing. You’ll leave the Lil’ Plant Shop with a few valuable pieces of information from those who know best, but it’s up to an individual to understand his or her plant, become familiar with its needs, and care for it accordingly. Carli adds that she

the way the Elevelds talk about plants: a great deal of RESPECT.”

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“

There’s

a deep acknowledgment that plants are

JUST AS ALIVE as humans, and require similar care and attention.”

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and her family “give education in layman’s terms.” She likes to offer “simple things that are really easy to understand, because I know how complicated it can get. Especially when we’re talking about something as old as plants, and they have all these Latin names and all these light sources you have to think of … it’s a lot easier to give stories or examples for people to understand.”

Throughout the interview, Jeff offers several sensible tips that might surprise potential plant homes. He talks about watching a leaf when first purchasing a plant to see when it begins to wilt, and watering accordingly. Repeating that process and counting the days in between gives you a watering interval. “Most people water plants because they want to. You need to water plants when they want you to. You don’t feed a baby all the time, you feed it when it needs to be fed.”

He also mentions that one should never move a plant. “Once you find a home for it you leave it there, because they’re not nomadic. Think about it: a little sapling growing in the forest doesn’t pick himself up and walk over to the edge and say ‘This is where all the sunlight is!’ He acclimates. And if he’s lucky, a few of the branches from the older trees will break off and sunlight will filter through and it will be his turn to shine.”

It’s heartening to hear the way the Elevelds talk about plants: lovingly, and with a great deal of respect. There’s a deep acknowledgment that plants are just as alive as humans, and require similar care and attention.

But more importantly, they symbolize more than just a thing that grows. “If you spend $20 on a flower arrangement most people would say that’s an expense, but it’s an investment. Why? Because every time you look at that flower arrangement, it’s going to make you feel good. That’s the investment, in your own personal wellbeing. When you buy a plant, you’re investing in your own personal happiness. You can’t have a plant forever, but if you buy a plant because you love that plant, and you kill it in six or eight months, you got your money’s worth. Don’t look at it as ‘Oh I wasted $20 on that plant,’ look at it as ‘I invested six months in that plant, I’m going to invest another six months in a new one.”

Positivity continues to radiate out of The Lil’ Plant Shop, as the workshops grow in size, the Elevelds acquire more plants, and business booms, especially for big holidays like Easter and Mother’s Day. The option for tea and coffee is now available, and the warmer days encourage lounging among the bright flowers in the shop’s sunny patio area, front and center on Main Street. As Jeff puts it, “it’s nice to see and be seen.” You can follow The Lil’ Plant Shop for photos and workshop updates on Instagram @ thelilplantshop, and on Facebook as well. Hopefully you’ll get to visit in the near future, but don’t forget Jeff’s lasting piece of advice: “Call us before you kill it.”

More on The Lil’ Plant Shop: thelittleplantshopct.com.

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