Indoor gardening shop The Copper Vine keeps things easy and unusual
Tucked neatly into the heart of the booming condominium developments of South Capitol Hill, in a East Pine Street storefront between 13th and 14th avenues, is the Copper Vine. As the name might suggest, it's a plant lover's treasure chest that bills itself as the only indoor gardening shop on Capitol Hill.
This is not a place to find indoor growing lights for indoor farmers, rather a place to find the kinds of plants and support materials to make your house, condo or apartment a home.
"There wasn't an indoor gardening shop on Capitol Hill since City People left," said Kim Hightower of her decision to open the shop. "I spent a little time in Europe and discovered how great it is to shop in shops that are small and you can walk to."
Hightower has lived on Capitol Hill herself for 15 years.
"Most of my customers have found the store by walking by," said Hightower. She said her motivation came during a trip to Europe when she saw the little shops that served the neighborhoods around them. She thought hard about what niche she could fill and came up with an indoor plant shop.
Most of her customers do walk to the shop, she said, but because she is the closest plant shop to downtown, some customers come to the shop by cab.
"I do try to find plants that are a little unusual," Hightower said, but even if they unusual, like a staghorn fern or a Hindu rope plant, it is important for them to be easy to grow. "I try to sell things I know people will be successful with."
She also has a wide variety of planters - pots intended primarily for small, indoor plants, but some large enough for small trees destined for decks or balconies. Her largest selection is in the 10- to 12-inch range and that group includes both imported and locally crafted pots.
"People like the old pots," she said, and she tries to keep a line of vintage pots. She also accepts used pots - the plastic kind that plants come in from stores - and recycles them.
A woman in business clothes was looking around. She, like so many of the customers, is a regular.
"There are just the most fantastic plants here all the time," said Elysha Rose Diaz of Via Tribunali Pizzeria, on East Pike Street near Broadway. "She does the flowers for the store every week," Diaz said. The deal is that Hightower finds unusual items and Diaz takes them and does the arrangements.
"She makes everybody happy," Diaz said.
Just a short time later a man came in. His cactus plant had issues. Hightower listened to the problem, offered advice on how to deal with it and filled a baggy with potting soil for him. She warned him to sterilize a new, plastic pot with a bleach solution before using it.
THE GREEN TOUCH
Although she was a Microsoft employee, the switch to an indoor garden nursery was a natural one. Hightower's mother was an ardent gardener and her father is a professional forester. Plant skill just came naturally.
The Copper Vine opened in March, but even on a weekday afternoon customers were coming in and out for plants, for advice and for supplies. Hightower said she knew there was a need, but she wasn't sure how it would work out.
"Better than I expected," she admitted. "Mostly because I get a lot of positive feedback. They love having the shop in the neighborhood."
In a far corner of the store, Hightower has watering cans in all materials and sizes, from tiny plastic ones that a child might covet, to large galvanized watering cans suitable for a whole deck garden. There are also pruning shears, garden trowels, collapsible rakes and other items for the small-scale garden.
In fact, if you really want a grow lamp, just a small one to give one special plant a boost, you can get that, too. And you can even get a decorative paper lantern to go over it.
Hightower only stocks plants that she knows; ones that will thrive in an indoor environment. However, if there is something special needed, she also does special orders.
In fact, she has a variety of water pots, the kind of container without holes, that you can grow your water garden in. However, she only stocks small papyrus plants because she has to be able to move them in and out of the store. Water hyacinth and water lilies don't survive in her store, but she can order them and tell you how to be successful with them.
With everything tucked into a single storefront, it would seem as though there would not be room for anything more. Not true. The wall space also acts as a gallery for local artists. Hightower rotates the shows every two months. She is even one of the participants in the 2TUE, the local artwalk that takes place on the second Tuesday of each month.
The Copper Vine at 1315 E. Pine St. They can be reached at 323-0770 or www.coppervine.com.
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