An Interview with: Fancy Plants

By Hendrike Rahtz, The Croft Deputy Editor

The Croft Magazine // We interviewed the local Fancy Plants to investigate the relationship people, particularly students, have with plants

Fancy Plants is a local family business that specialises in plants for any kind of setting. On one particularly rainy morning Emma (The Croft’s Digital Editor) and I met with Sharon, director of the business, who runs it with help from her daughter and partner. Getting VIP access before the shop had actually opened meant we could gain an exclusive interview concerning the plant business, what makes Fancy Plants stand out, and which plants would be best for a student room environment.

We were particularly interested in plants because they have become a social media phenomenon - there is no better way to achieve an aesthetically pleasing Instagram than dotting around a few photos of your house plants. We wondered: are plants just to make you look slightly more fashionable and put together, or can they actually improve wellbeing and how our rooms feel to us?

I bought a ‘snake plant’ which is apparently one of the best plants for a student to own – watch our video on Facebook to find out why!

Sharon tells us that actually the fashion of having plants in your home has been big for a long time, especially in the 80s (who knew?), and that people used them to improve serendipity in the home. We discussed how perhaps the reason owning plants is seen as a new trend is because it’s now plastered all over Instagram; now you can see what people put in their homes without ever having to visit them (or even meet them).

This is an example of a “care card” that Fancy Plants give with every plant sold – very useful for both plant newbies and professionals alike.

Sharon is very knowledgeable about her business. If you ever wanted to know anything about plants, from retail, care, and Latin pronunciations of plants; then Sharon will be able to tell you. Because of the passion and the hard work put into the entirety of her business, from creating ‘care-cards’ for every plant to organising the shop floor so that every plant gets its ideal amount of light, Fancy Plants stands out just a little further than other plant shops.

An example of how aesthetically pleasing plants can be - but aside from these succulents’ beauty, they have vital wellbeing qualities.

Make sure to check out our video on Facebook where we take you on a visual tour of the shop itself, and speak to Sharon about the best plants for students!

Featured: Fancy Plants / Sharon Benton

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