Why food and houseplants are the perfect pairing this Mother’s Day
Moms won’t turn down a bouquet of hand-tied flowers from Bloom & Plume or a pretty potted monstera plant from Queen plant shop, but the reality is that most don’t want gifts for Mother’s Day. What they really want is to spend time with their kids (well, unless they’re within the terrible 2s-and-age 3 range. Then they’ll undoubtedly accept an all-day pass to relax at one of L.A.’s Koreatown spas).
Instead, why not bring moms and plants together for a good time?
They’re an optimistic endeavor most of the time, and L.A.’s plant stores are often happy places where you can shop for plants and gifts as well as visit and enjoy time with your mother. “We get people coming in here all the time with their moms,” said Annette Gutierrez of Potted in Atwater Village. “I really love it when these young Gen Zers come in to buy their moms a plant present. They get so excited.”
Many local plant shops are offering a variety of gifts, special pop-ups and custom gift baskets for Mother’s Day. Therefore, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite houseplant stores along with tips on where to get a bite to eat after shopping now that Los Angeles County has entered the yellow tier. (And why not celebrate the ultimate plant parent — your mother — by spending the day with her?)
If you insist on buying a gift, consult our lists of Black-, Latino-, AAPI- and female-owned businesses as a way to support the creative community in Los Angeles.
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All Time Plants
In addition to houseplants, this Long Beach store will host a flower pop-up with Stephanie Tabitha Domingo of Mauve Roots at 10 a.m. Sunday; it will last until bouquets are sold out. The store is inside Commodity, a coffee shop and wine bar that started as a pop-up, and Amigo Modern, featuring California-made furniture and accessories by Eric Trine.
Info: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday, 1322 Coronado Ave., Suite B, Long Beach, commoditylbc.com
Nearby eats: Commodity will serve breakfast burritos, breakfast sandwiches and tacos as well as baked goods from the Caffeinated Kitchen and Hey Brother Baker.
Folia Collective
Danae Horst’s Eagle Rock plant store won’t be open on Mother’s Day, but don’t let that stop you from dropping by Saturday to take a look around. Horst said she has brought in more blooming plants than usual and has a good assortment of cards and gifts with Mother’s Day in mind. Rhaphidophora tetrasperma stud earrings, anyone?
Info: Noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday to Friday; 11a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; 5052 Eagle Rock Blvd., Eagle Rock, (626) 787-4957, foliacollective.com
Restaurant tip: The Chinese Peruvian restaurant Chifa (4374 Eagle Rock Blvd.) is offering limited-capacity outdoor dining.
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Greenwood Shop
This sunny Studio City store is offering custom gift baskets for Mother’s Day in addition to houseplants, ceramics, candles and apothecary items by local artists.
Info: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; 12063 Ventura Place, Studio City; (818) 505-3282, greenwood-shop.com
Restaurant tip: Stroll the Studio City Farmers Market, which is open until 1 p.m., or try Chinese chicken salad on the outdoor patio at Joan’s on Third on Ventura Place.
The Juicy Leaf
Houseplants, succulents, cactuses, tillandsia, designer terrariums, planters and macramé hangers — you can find it all at Felix Navarro’s Glassell Park plant shop.
Info: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday; 2614 Arthur St., Suite B, Glassell Park, (310) 907-5019, thejuicyleaf.com
Nearby eats: Navarro recommends the Tex-Mex restaurant HomeState in Highland Park, his “favorite place in the whole wide world.”
Latinx With Plants
Owner Andi Xoch and candle brand Easton Wicks are offering handmade 4.5-ounce soy wax candles in macramé hangers with aventurine stones in three scents: Cactus Jade, Rosemary Sage and Eucalyptus Mint. They are $20.
Info: 11a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday; 2117 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Los Angeles; latinxwithplants.com
Nearby eats: El Tepeyac Cafe in Boyle Heights, opened by the Rojas family in 1955, is best known for its signature Hollenbeck burrito, which restaurant critic Jonathan Gold once described as “an old-line Mexican restaurant’s entire menu wrapped into a bedsheet-size tortilla.”
So you’re ready to go plant shopping in person. Here are some tips on being the kind of customer that everyone wants to see coming through the doors.
Lenita by Grita
Nemuel DePaula’s Lenita by Grita Flower Truck pop-up will make a stop from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Row DTLA, where he will offer hand-tied flower arrangements.
Info: Row DTLA, 777 Alameda St., downtown Los Angeles, rowdtla.com
Nearby eats: Rappahannock Oyster Bar is offering a Mother’s Day brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., including a mimosa, three raw oysters and choice of lobster benedict or lobster roll for $35 per person. Rappahannock will also serve a mini seafood platter (two oysters, two bay scallops and two shrimp cocktail) plus a bottle of Cava for $55, available from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Mickey Hargitay Plants
The Hollywood fixture with a large selection of indoor and outdoor plants will offer moms a free 2-inch succulent.
Info: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; 1255 N. Sycamore Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 467-8044, mickeysplants.com
Nearby eats: Tartine Sycamore is open for takeout, delivery, outdoor dining and limited indoor dining from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, tartinebakery.com. Tricia Beanum’s vintage home goods store Pop Up Home, also on Sycamore, is worth a look.
Planta Nursery
Book a private shopping experience for you and Mom at the Highland Park nursery, which features an extensive selection of house plants, natives and succulents.
Info: By appointment, 6011 York Blvd., Highland Park, (323) 397-8688, plantanursery.com
Nearby eats: Indulge in some pasta at Hippo on Figueroa (5916½ N. Figueroa St.), which is open for patio dining.
Potted
Shop for indoor and outdoor plants, home decor and gifts at this longtime garden shop in Atwater Village.
Info: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, 3158 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles, pottedstore.com
Nearby eats: Bon Vivant and All’acqua on Glendale Boulevard are offering outdoor dining.
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Queen
Amorette Brooms is offering a magenta orchid in a hand-painted pot for $75 and a leafy monstera plant in a pink box for $75 for pickup and local delivery. Brooms is also hosting a shopping day Saturday with mimosas and free flowers for single mothers.
Info: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, 5011 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 434-7113, queenlosangeles.com
Nearby eats: Brooms is ordering her mother a Mother’s Day special from Harold & Belle’s Creole Restaurant. It includes gumbo, fried chicken, fried catfish strips, red beans and rice, potato salad and bread pudding with whiskey sauce for $95.
The Plant Provocateur
Hank Jenkins of the Plant Provacateur will offer a rare plant exclusive for collectors at a Mother’s Day pop-up on Saturday. From Jenkins’ Instagram post: “Syngonium macrophylla ‘Arrowhead Vine’ comes from tropical areas in Central America and Ecuador. Plant vines grow 10-12 feet with tropical arrowhead-like leaves up to 8-10 inches. Beautiful tropical exotic look. Likes bright/indirect light, well-draining soil mix, and thrives when soil is allowed to dry between watering.”
Info: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Gilly Flowers L.A., 3936 Sunset Blvd, Silver Lake, gillyflowers.com
Restaurant tip: The pop-up is next door to Intelligentsia Coffee (be sure to take a selfie on the blue and white Granada tile) and La Pharmacie du Vin.
Rolling Greens
The garden and home design store is offering limited-edition terrariums at the Beverly Grove location.
Info: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, 7505 Beverly Blvd., Beverly Grove, (323) 934-4500, rghomeandgarden.com
Nearby eats: Angelini Osteria, an informal trattoria at 7313-7321 Beverly Blvd., is open for indoor and outdoor dining.
Sanso
Husband-and-wife duo Yunice Kang and Chris McElrath offer a selection of rare plants in handcrafted ceramics, as well as exquisite kokedama plants. Their store reopens in June, but they are hosting a sale Saturday at the Korean coffeehouse Maru Coffee in the Arts District in downtown Los Angeles.
Info: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 1019 S. Santa Fe Ave., Los Angeles.
Nearby eats: Grab a cream top latte and a canelé before they are sold out. They are baked on-site at Maru.
The Sill
The West Hollywood plant shop is offering some in-store exclusives this week and weekend for Mother’s Day, including the popular and pet-friendly Peperomia Frost, colorful bromeliads and anthuriums and outdoor plant options.
Info: Noon to 7 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday; 8125 W. 3rd. St., Los Angeles, (323) 879-9720; thesill.com
Nearby eats: Nosh on some avocado toast at the West Hollywood Flower Shop Café. Aussie florist Poppy Lavender Florals sells fresh bouquets daily from the cafe’s takeaway window.
It’s not too late to order a bouquet for the mothers in your life.
Tansy
Owners Shawna Christian and Colette Fowler are offering 20% off succulent arrangements and garden-to-go kits for Mother’s Day at their Burbank plant store.
Info: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday; 2120 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, (855) 270-0958, shoptansy.com
Nearby eats: Grab brunch at the hilltop Castaway restaurant, which is hosting indoor and outdoor dining.
Wild Flora
The full-service florist is offering flowers, plants, candles, cards and custom boxes for Mother’s Day.
Info: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Special hours on Mother’s Day: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 12313 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, (818) 754-1188, wildfloradesign.com. (Also at the Original Farmers Market, 6333 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles.)
Nearby eats: Ventura Boulevard is a sushi lover’s dream, and Asanebo won’t disappoint.
Wyldbnch Plants
The downtown Los Angeles plant shop is offering custom planters as well as discounts on plants and home goods in honor of Mother’s Day.
Info: Book appointments in advance; 613 S. Central Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 283-9950, wyldbnchplants.com
Nearby eats: Yxta Cocina Mexican restaurant is in the same plaza. It’s normally closed Sundays but it’s offering a special three-course prix-fixe meal on Mother’s Day from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
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