This post has been three and a half years in the making.
One of the biggest reasons we chose to open The Botany Shop at 909 Portage Avenue in the Near Northwest Neighborhood of South Bend was the vacant lot adjacent to the space the Shop now calls home.
The Lot Next Door, as seen from Portage Avenue in the fall of 2022, shortly after we planted the first trees and shrubs.
There was always a dream for this space, right from the start. When we were graduating from pop-up to permanent, we looked at plenty of indoor spaces, but I knew the future of Botany had to include an outdoor element, too.
Slowly, gradually, we’ve been working to convert this “vacant lot” in to… something else. Something hopeful, beautiful, optimistic, and empowering. We started by adding the first “bones” – trees and shrubs – in the fall of 2022 (above). Last year, we started adding some perennials, grasses, and bulbs.
And then…
On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, we officially broke ground on our next adventure: a new space we’re calling The Lot Next Door.
(Hopefully you’ll catch the double meaning.)
The Lot will debut in part in just a few weeks when for the first time we’ll be selling fresh-cut Christmas trees (all Frasier Fir, my personal fave, in case you’re curious). This is something we’ve dreamed of doing from the very beginning, and if you’re counting, 2024 will be our fourth holiday season… some things are indeed worth waiting for.
On that note, please be sure to save the date for our first-ever Holiday Open House on Saturday, November 23 from 10a-5p. In addition to the trees, we’ll have warm and delicious drinks from Revenant, a fire pit with S’mores, a transformed and festive terrarium bar-turned-decorating-station, with more in the works. Stay tuned!
I hope to see you there.
The full Grand Opening of the Lot will be the weekend of April 26-27, 2025, so the Holiday Open House is your only chance to get a sneak peek at this space in progress before then.
When it opens next spring, the Lot will be more than just a retail space as it doubles as a teaching and demonstration garden, too. We’ve already begun adding some of our favorite plants, and more will continue to arrive over the coming seasons. Our goal is to provide a mature specimen of just about everything we sell, so you know exactly what to expect as new plants mature. Our hope is that by combining knowledge and learning with access to affordable, quality plants, we can accelerate the positive changes we desperately need to make in our shared environment.
The native, hardy plants we’ve come to love so much will be available on the regular, and - most exciting - many if not most as plugs. Plugs are an easy and affordable way to quickly add more plants to your landscape and are far more economical and successful than gallon-size plants (which are often grown to look good in a pot in the garden center, rather than in the ground in your garden). Plugs help set everyone up for success.
The Lot also represents the next step in our quest to develop the idea of the Botany Block, a collection of several adjacent lots nearby that, taken together, we plan to cultivate into a vibrant, verdant, and connected botanical neighborhood in the years to come.
So many people have helped us make it to this point, and the thought of trying to name them all triggers a healthy dose of anxiety, but a few really do deserve a shout-out.
First, Andy Caban of Indigo Gardens & Design. I met Andy a few months ago at the spring South Bend Wild Ones native plant sale where they were, “just there to help out and build community.” I instantly liked that energy. Then, summer happened, and we didn’t have a chance to reconnect. We ran in to one other again at another Wild Ones event back in September.
One thing led to another, and on very short notice, Andy quite literally came to our rescue when our first contractor fell through. Bear in mind, the Christmas trees had been ordered (and partially paid for) months ago, and we didn’t have a space for them yet!
Andy’s optimistic, joyful spirit and can-do, collaborative attitude is rare. I went from simmering with anxiety and worry and “just wanting to get this over with,” to, “I really, really love this.” Guys – I haven’t felt that in a while, and it was needed. Thanks, Andy.
Second, my dad, with his Indiana farmer work ethic and machinist precision, attention to detail and pattern language, and the empathy and compassion of a former business owner. I know I haven’t been the easiest “client” along this journey, and when I asked for his help to build a new custom fence, gate, and entrance for the Lot, he simply said, “Sure, when?” (Because South Bend deserves better than an off-the-rack fence, and yes, that’s an actual thought I had, several times).
Well, we’re getting what we wished for. While I’m beyond excited to share a custom, beautiful fence (lol, nerd alert), this progress report today is also a personal journal entry for my own benefit, too. These are memories I want to hang on to, moments I want to remember. The grit, the dust, the exhaustion, the joy, the optimism, the creativity, the community, and the family.
Days like these are why we moved back to South Bend in late 2020. Don’t ever underestimate the power of moving with intention.
Thanks, dad. Love ya.
Once again – it takes a village. And I remain ever grateful that you’re ours.
Thanks, plant lovers. See you soon?