Join the ‘botanic boom’

Greater Lehigh Valley Plant Tour on Saturday features 5 shops owned by women in bar-crawl-style shopping experience

A handful of plant shops owned by women across the Lehigh Valley have banded together for a new kind of plant-shopping experience this weekend, aiming to promote local businesses and ring in the spring season.

The Greater Lehigh Valley Plant Tour runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Local shops participating are Just One More Plant in Quakertown, Plants on the Sill in Revere, The Curious Plantaholic in Nazareth, Gift Box Floral & Garden in Easton and Steel City Plant Co. in Bethlehem.

Set up like a bar crawl, plant-tour participants are encouraged to visit and buy something at each shop. If they do, they’ll receive a stamp on a tour passport, and if they get all five stamps, they’ll be entered to win a rare plant.

“We are all so unique and different, yet we have such a close-knit plant community,” said Erin Whitney, co-owner of Just One More Plant. “It’s really awesome we get to showcase this to all of our customers.”

Many of the shops are offering discounts during the crawl and showcasing a variety of house plants, pots and other accessories.

“It gives plant people in all stages of their journey to get out and experience some of the small plant shops in the area,” said Kimmy Raub, owner of Gift Box Floral & Garden.

The region’s plant businesses have been busy as the pandemic accelerated into a full-on “botanic boom.” Shop owners and plant enthusiasts have said it’s a great hobby for those looking to decrease stress and anxiety, beautify their homes, purify the air and nurture another living thing.

Victoria Thigpen, owner of Plants on the Sill, is holding a pop-up shop in Revere, Nockamixon Township, as she doesn’t have a storefront yet. However, she plans to open a shop near the pop-up’s location, she said.

“The plant community has definitely grown tremendously during these difficult times,” Thigpen said. “The plant crawl is just a taste of what will be in my store, such as specialty houseplants, floral design and local craft.”

The Curious Plantaholic will be featuring philodendron pastazanum, plowmanii and other aroids, along with hundreds of other plants, Marimo moss balls, planters, books and supplies, owner Jenny DeLorenzo said.

“Our locally grown carnivorous sarracenia pitcher plants will be making their shop debut this weekend,” she said. “We’re also thrilled to feature locally made items from local crafters, like bracelets, macrame and rings.”

And for those more traditional crawlers, Steel City Plant Co. is offering complimentary beer and wine for shoppers, as well as a free seed packet with a purchase, owner Angie DelGrosso said.

“Instead of looking at each other as competition, we are working hard to make the Greater Lehigh Valley a plant lovers’ destination which will attract business for all,” she said.

Preregistration for the crawl has ended, but passports are available first-come, first-served for $12 on Saturday.

MORNING CALL AMY SHORTELL/THE The Lehigh Valley has been experiencing a botanic boom as people are buying plants to occupy their time, to reduce stress or anxiety and to learn something new. Gift Box Floral in Easton is seen here showing its selection of houseplants for sale. Owner Kimmy Raub says popular plants at the shop include snake plants, succulents, air plants, calathea, fiddle fig and the Swiss cheese plant. Raub also offers a popular flower and plant bar where customers can pick a plant and pot and have the staff pot it for them.