Frond, a shop for houseplant lovers
Chalk it up to my weird indifference to houseplants, but it’s taken me two years to check out Frond Plant Shop on West Mary Street, right off South 1st, even though I kept hearing good things about it. Make that former indifference!
Frond has unlocked my latent fondness for houseplants, in no small part because of the store’s appealing styling, with an emphasis on pairing plants with beautiful pots and baskets in muted colors and natural textures.
It’s very touchable here. My fingers lingered over creamy woven baskets with tassels, smooth wooden pots, nubby seagrass baskets, and matte black and white ceramic pots, with an interesting variety of small to medium-size plants artfully displayed on tables and shelves.
Diamond shelving is on point. Even the art on the wall is of houseplants.
I really liked the small African-style baskets on the third shelf.
The owner is a young woman named Sara, and these are, I believe, her sketches taped to the wall behind the counter.
Her father is a painter, and several of his botanical still-lifes are for sale. This one seriously tempted me.
Sara was friendly and helpful when I asked for her assistance in choosing a couple of plants to green up the inside of my home. Thanks for your help, Sara!
I chose a shiny-leaved ZZ plant and a seagrass basket to put it in (with plastic saucer inside to protect the floor) for my guitar-playing spot by a window.
And a cute red-and-green-leaved plant for the bureau by the front door. (It was labeled, but I threw away the tag and now I’ve forgotten what it is. Oops.) I like how the red in the leaves picks up the red in the painting and wallpaper. Update: It’s a fittonia. Thanks for the ID, Kris and Sherry!
A contemporary cachepot on a 3-legged stand shows it off nicely, but it’s a little small, revealing the rim of the plastic pot inside. I haven’t decided whether that bothers me enough to hide it with Spanish moss or something. But I’m enjoying both of my new plants, which have given new life to these much-used spaces in my home.
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My first “gardens” were houseplant collections and I retain a love of them even through I abuse my own terribly. I’d have gone crazy in that store, especially as many of those plants would do fine in my outdoor shade house. Your red-veined plant is probably Fittonia albienis, aka nerve plant.
Thanks for the ID, Kris. That does ring a bell. I never really went through a houseplant phase, although I’ve always had a few stalwarts. My mom though — she was a houseplant nut when I was growing up, and our house was a jungle of cool plants.
I love the looks of this store. I would find something I would have to bring home too. That red veined plant of yours will soon cover the edges of that pot. Don’t worry about it I’d say. Pretty.
Excellent point, Lisa. Not worrying about it is my decided preference anyway.
I think it is this:
Nerve Plant Fittonia verschaffeitii
Thanks, Sherry!
Thanks for introducing me to this new shop. Definitely worth a visit although I don’t have many houseplants. Mostly because of weeks of travel. I good choice on the ZZ plant. I did buy one plant last fall and it has survived several weeks of travel and even more of neglect. I probably won’t live to see it as large as the one Linda P has in SA. That was a beauty. But it has put out at least 6 leaves in the last year and seems very happy.
I’m glad to hear the ZZ plant can make it through weeks of neglect because I like to travel too. The little nerve plant may be a more temporary addition to my home.
The ZZ plant was an excellent choice. So far, it’s the only houseplant I haven’t killed, and that includes both pothos and sansevieria, among the other usual suspects!
I thought sansevieria was bulletproof. But then again I’ve killed bulletproof plants — ha! I’m glad to have your thumbs-up on the ZZ.
that shop looks great! there would have been a lot of things that I would have liked to bring home. I love houseplants and used to have a bunch, but our cat loves to eat them (and then walk to another part of the house, preferably with carpet, and throw them up). After a few years of trying to outsmart him, we sort of gave up. Right now we have a bunch of terrariums and hanging plants that have thwarted his attempts, but we’re always looking for new ways to outsmart the little guy.
Oh, I know that carpet trick with my dog. 🙂 Terrariums and hanging plants are a smart way to foil that.