With the house plant industry booming there is a wealth of new botanical businesses launching. At Green Rooms Market we love to support brand new planty brands, helping them to reach new audiences and interact with their potential customers face-to-face therefore gaining invaluable trading knowledge.
One of our newest stall holders is Leaf Envy, launched this year as an online plant retailer with a pop-up plant shop on her canal boat! We love the way Leaf Envy create no-nonsense comprehensive nuggets of plant care knowledge. You can even take a plant quiz on their website to learn which plants would suit your living space best.
Get to know Beth the Wonder Woman behind this new brand, and learn about her business below…
Leaf Envy
Est. 2019
Photo taken during Green Rooms Market Canopy Market, Kings’s Cross July 2019. Image by Peach Photo.
We asked Beth to tell us a little bit about Leaf Envy…
How did Leaf Envy start?
Funnily enough, the idea for Leaf Envy was born because of my bad plant parenting skills! At the time, I'd moved to LA working with a tech-start up, and decided to drop a huge amount of money on plants upfront to greenify my space. It was a classic case of "all the gear, no idea". I had zero clue what I had just bought, whether they would suit my living space, no car to get them home, and no idea how to look after them! Needless to say, I managed to kill everything 2 months later! I thought to myself - surely there is an easier way than this...which there wasn't and I became determined to build one.
Our whole mission is digital-first. We're more of a personalisation platform than anything else. With our plant quiz, easy to understand care advice, personalised watering reminders & care-tips, and quality but affordable plants delivered to your door. Leaf Envy is designed to take out the pain points I experienced when I first found my passion for plants. So people can focus on re-connecting with nature and growing their indoor jungle of dreams.
Why a house plant business?
I like to think about my business like a happiness enabler. It's all about enabling more people to become plant people, and better ones at that. Everyone has heard about the benefits of plants to your mental wellbeing and environment - I truly believe this and experience this everyday. My aim is to spread the plant love, so we can all live more fulfilled lives closer to nature.
What's a normal working day like for Leaf Envy?
It's pretty insane, and to be honest, you name it...I probably do it! Packing, photographing, editing, creating content, collateral, meeting partners, suppliers, accountants, developers, collaborators. I can usually be found at our canal boat in the mornings as that's when I ship our plants off to their new homes, and in the afternoon at Google Campus for Start Ups - where I was lucky enough to be chosen to be on their female founders program. On weekends I'm usually seen sailing down the canal and mooring up and setting up our plant pop up shop!
As we enter our next phase of growth I'm looking for my wing-man/woman to help me out in all areas of the business! It's a lot, but I love it. I actually dream about plants all the time - my boyfriend thinks I'm crazy. Goes with the "crazy plant lady" image though I guess!
Do you have any fool-proof tips for house plant care?
I live by 3 rules of a green-thumb:
1. Do not smother your children! Little and often is NOT a thing. Less watering sessions, but more thorough when you do. Let the water soak right through (I bring them to the sink), so the whole root-ball gets some TLC, and let it drain! Wet feet is basically torture for your plant babies.
2. Tropical plants are... you guessed it, tropical! They love humidity. Get yourself a mister and bring this into your watering habit. I try mist all my plants once per week.
3. A lot of people are scared to remove any yellow, brown or damaged leaves, or cut into leaves that are only half dry/damaged. My advice is to prune away and as soon as you spot it! Remember that the longer they are left like this, the more energy the plant is expending trying to keep it that leaf alive - so it doesn't have as much energy to focus on new growth. Best to nip it in the bud.
What’s next for Leaf Envy?
We're currently testing our WhatsApp watering reminders & care tips experience, which is coming out in September! We're also launching our own range of chic, lightweight and durable planters at the end of August, which I can't wait for! People have been messaging me about these for a while, so I'm looking forward to finally bringing them to the people.
We love Leaf Envy’s Jungle Map, which proved a hit at our market in King’s Cross….it’s a simple guide to the ease of care and light levels required for some of the most popular house plants.
Created by Leaf Envy
Meet Beth at our next market Sun 25th Aug! More info here