What started as a pop up experimental store in the plaza of Rosemary Square has now become a permanent store, with a twist.
Artist Sarah La Pierre, who has created several bright, beautiful murals of flowers and plants throughout the district, was doing live painting outside in the plaza alongside Mike Kane’s potted plant sales. Eventually, the idea of making it a permanent situation arose and a perfect store—the Garden Shoppe—was founded next to the Le Macaron shop beside the Himmel Theater. They now offer expanded horticulture ideas with workshops, and herb planters you can pick up and take home whether you live in a highrise or a house with a yard. There is also Sarah’s in-store art studio where she creates and teaches in her unique thick paint style.
Master Gardener Mike Kane has over 6 years of experience landscaping in many high-end, multimillion-dollar estate gardens on Palm Beach island. He works with top-notch landscape architects and irrigation contractors. He provides the gardening and plant services for Brightline Train stations, the West Palm Beach Hilton, and now at Rosemary Square – check out the dozens of orchids strapped to the new palm trees around Jeppe Hein’s Water Pavilion.
With all this varied experience he has figured out how to grow the best tasting fruits, veggie gardens, and herbs in a beautiful, easy way, and he wants to share that knowledge with the public.
“We are a specialty plant store that carries a unique selection of plants and pots plus art and tea,” says Kane. “We mainly carry houseplants, succulents, orchids, and veggies & herbs. It’s a magical shopping experience in Rosemary Square where we offer so much more than regular garden centers. If you buy a plant and a pot from us, we will plant it for you for free with our premium potting soil. You can even choose if you would like to top it with mulch, rocks or moss. Completely customizable arrangements, professionally planted and ready to thrive, saving you from buying a bag of potting soil and the mess involved.”
The Garden Shoppe is more than just a retail store as they host several entertaining and informative events each month; teaching people how to garden.
Kane is dismayed that the average piece of food travels over 1,500 miles before it reaches the plate, and almost 10 million acres of wetland have been lost in Florida since the 1980s. He wants to see lawns turned into gardens in a way that looks as beautiful as it is productive. He calls his organization SPIN – for S-mall P-lot IN-tensive, and the goal is to build 30 SPIN farms in Palm Beach County and deliver fresh, local and healthy food to the community.
Whether the goal is to farm professionally, or produce a significant supply of commercial-grade crops for family and friends, this system has already launched thousands of new home and community-based farm operations throughout the US and Canada.
“Mike Kane hosts his gardening workshops, and I host my paint-a-planter night and keep my own regular studio hours live painting,” Sarah says, “but we have also hosted talks with authors about raw veganism and holistic lifestyles, others like Flose Boursiquot have shared their voices in spoken word poetry nights showcasing local talent. We shared our Shoppe with the Norton gallery for a printmaking event that was the best pre-hurricane (Dorian) party and eased storm tensions with art. So many other beautiful little branches of this tree that is growing, from rock painting to mango fest, tea ceremonies with the Art of Cha, meditation lessons, yoga, and planting seeds with children and families. There is a special kind of everyday magic happening here.”
So, whether you are a beginner or advanced gardeners SPIN farming is everything you need to producing organic food in months, not years.
Sarah says it is such a joy to be a part of the newly reopened and gorgeous Rosemary Square neighborhood. “We know that people will love the new green spaces and a wonderful part of the experience is that they can take some of that home with them when they stop at The Garden Shoppe.”
To learn about special events at the Graden Shoppe, visit pbfarmyards.org
—
Garden Shoppe: Paint a Vision, Plant a Dream Garden
