I heard a provocative statement a few days ago: “Your organization’s budget is a moral document.” There’s plenty of nuance to unpack here, but put another way, money = morals. Every great detective novel or spy movie encourages us to “follow the money” when searching out evil, but what if there’s another way to interpret this phrase – one with a fully hopeful and altruistic intent?
When the Botany Pop-Up opened nearly one year ago, it wasn’t intended to become a permanent plant shop. It also wasn’t intended to become a planting design practice. That’s because it didn’t know what it wanted to be when it “grew up.” We let it evolve as it wanted to and leaned in when and where it felt right.
Confession: I have a hard time “being present.” My mind wanders quickly and easily, and I am at my most energetic when visioning and imagining. My mind always goes back to the “what’s next?” list that’s rolling around in my head, complete with a sympathy of scenarios branching out in front of me at a speed and quantity that often leads me to feel anxious and overwhelmed.
In other words, I really love to “what if?”
Sometimes, I need a break from my own brain, which can be difficult when you remember you’re stuck with your brain, and it’s stuck with you.
Whenever I feel this starting to happen, I’ve found I can re-ground myself with a simple mantra, a phrase and focus that I repeat over and over until my mind calms down again. Right now, the phrase I’m returning to is:
“What we learn while gardening transcends the soil.”
If you care for plants in any shape or form, you likely know what I mean. Caring for plants reminds us how to focus on a task and be present. Plants care for us in return, when as we sit back to enjoy the beauty they bring we’re reminded that instant gratification is not always the most rewarding – good things take time.
Plants also remind us that growth is not perpetual. There are meant to be fallow, slow, and calm periods of rest between seasons and phases of life. These moments allow us take stock, breath deep, and think about things we don’t normally have time to ponder. Plants remind us it’s ok to slow down and it’s ok to take a break.
Plants also can genuinely surprise us, and I believe there’s something to be said for this when we live in a world where social media algorithms can predict our preferences and behaviors better than we can. Genuine surprises spark genuine and authentic joy.
In short, plants have superpowers.
We launched Botany just a few months ago in early April when we opened as a Pop-Up Shop at Thyme of Grace restaurant, followed shortly by our move to 909 Portage Avenue in mid July. While exciting, for a person like me, starting a business can tug and pull against all those important plant powers. It’s easy to lose focus because there are so many things that need to be done. It’s easy to become obsessed with growth because not only are other people counting on you to succeed, but you also need to buy groceries at some point. It’s easy to become fixated on numbers and perpetual growth in service to all of this.
Thankfully, our business is plants, and that means we have easy access to their superpowers when we need it most.
In this spirit, we’ll be closing the Shop for a short winter break. We’ll be using this time to slow down, breathe deeply, refocus, and reset. We’re planning to reopen near the end of January, and we’ll be announcing a more precise date soon.
In addition to resting, we’ll also be planning for the year to come while tackling some big projects in the Shop, from important things behind the scenes to new displays and features. We know they’ll be things worth waiting for.
We’re deeply grateful to each one of you amazing plant-loving people. We’ve managed to grow quickly this year thanks to your support, encouragement, partnership, and patronage. We’ve made new friends, reconnected with old ones, discovered new things, and fallen more in love with South Bend than ever before. We hope you’re able to find time in these next few weeks to rediscover your focus, hone your passions, and rest.
It truly does take a village, and we thank you for being ours.
Onward, and we’ll see you in 2022.
With Gratitude -
Ben and the Botany Team
When we opened The Botany Shop two months ago, we introduced a new initiative: The Green Fund. At checkout, visitors are prompted to leave an optional “tip,” and all tips are pooled into the Fund. The intent of the Green Fund is to support community beautification projects in our new home, the Near Northwest Neighborhood.
Today, we’re announcing our first contribution and sharing more about how we plan to manage this initiative into the future.
We’ve crossed the threshold of our one-month anniversary at 909 Portage Avenue, and what a month it’s been. It’s been an absolute pleasure to meet so many new neighbors, friends, and plant lovers over the past four weeks, and your support means the world to us. Thank you for believing in and supporting our mission of connecting people to plants.
I spent the past two days completely immersed in my personal garden, a necessary and overdue meditation after the past few weeks getting ready to open The Botany Shop at 909 Portage Avenue. As I ripped out turf to make room for more plants, I scoured the back of my brain for the words to describe what I’ve felt these last few weeks.
Joyfully tumultuous gratitude. Yup, that’s it.
