Welcome to the jungle: Two new plant shops sprouting up downtown

LACONIA — Two new botanical businesses are will open downtown in the coming months. 

Rare houseplant boutique The Potting Shop is set to open in early August in the heart of downtown, where Pleasant Street merges into Main. Less than a block away, in a unit neighboring the Colonial Theatre, plant and home goods store Catchpenny, currently based in Alton, will put down roots in its second location this fall.

The owners of the two shops, both longtime residents of the Lakes Region, discussed the growing energy of downtown as a draw and described an earnest excitement for their shops to complement one another’s offerings. 

For The Potting Shop owner Melanie Anderson, caring for and propagating rare house plants is a longtime hobby that she decided to turn into a labor of love.

“I have been a plant collector for, I don't even know how many years,” she said. “I finally just decided to make it my dream job.”

Anderson has also worked in property management, accounting and vacation rentals, but her love of botany flourished during the pandemic. This year, she noticed the open storefront at the nose of Pleasant Street, with its triangular shape and two walls of large windows, and realized how well suited it would be as a plant store. She dove in. 

“This place has all these windows with natural light ... and it’s perfect for having plants in here,” Anderson said. “And I wanted to have that downtown vibe.” 

Most of the shop’s inventory — which boasts a range of montsera, philodendrons, alocasia and anthuriums, among others — was propagated and grown by Anderson. 

Anderson said she hopes to coordinate with local artists to stock handmade planters for customers to house their collections. She will also offer repotting services. 

Gardening, for Anderson, has long been grounded in family. Her mother was an avid gardener and the cultivator of her own love of botany. The Potting Shop will continue this familial theme, as Anderson’s son Connor will assist with retail operations so she can prioritize plant care and propagation when the store opens Saturday, Aug. 5. 

Catchpenny owner Aimee Terravechia has long had a soft spot for downtown Laconia and, like Anderson, leapt at the chance to add her business to an increasingly vibrant quilt of neighborhood businesses there.

While Catchpenny originated with a focus on transforming antique goods, it has blossomed into a collaborative retail space and community gathering spot, Terravechia said. Today, Catchpenny carefully selects products by makers who align with its ethical workplace and sustainability mission. These products line its shelves alongside its proprietary handcrafted products and selection of house plants.

“Now we have this really beautifully eclectic mix of things that are kind of gifty, but also things for the home,” including craft kits, watercolor painting kits, accessories like jewelry, magnets and stickers, Terravechia said. “All sorts of different kinds of stuff, and then the unifying thing is this mission of doing some good in the world.”

Terravechia and her husband met and grew up in Alton, and moved back five years ago to be closer to family. 

The business began as a way for Terravechia, who attended art school, and her husband to return to hands-on creative work after time in the corporate world, but the pandemic changed their resources and reshaped demand in their lane. They shifted toward including other makers and more plant work  — now about half of the business, Terravechia said.

During the pandemic, “a lot of people found value and peace and happiness in the act of plant care,” herself included, Terravechia said. Additionally, extra time spent at and working from home during the pandemic directed people’s effort and creative focus on their living spaces.

"People are really curating their spaces now to be that reflection of who they are ... not just houseplants, but even home decor stuff, like rugs and blankets and candles.”

Catchpenny also hosts craft and plant workshops for all ages, and a major aspiration for the larger Laconia storefront is to expand that slate of offerings: workshops in plant care, sip n’ shop, yoga, watercolor as well as a speaker series are all potential programming.

Both Terravechia and Anderson said they think their businesses will be a rising tide, drawing more green interest to the neighborhood. 

In Alton, Terravechia said she makes a point of communicating with similar shops to prevent overlap in what they offer.

“I'm very conscious of it,” she said. “We work really closely to make sure that what we're offering is dynamic and different, so that our community has a really diverse selection of places to visit and have experiences in and shop with.”

“I think it's great, the more plant stores we have around,” Anderson said. “Make Laconia a plant destination.”