Take a look inside Kelowna's newest plant shop

For one local business owner, a fondness for fauna, especially the exotic, has now turned into a career where he can educate about plants and share his love of nature.

After just a few months of online sales, Plant Gather is opening a physical retail space this weekend.

“I feel like the last few years have led to this particular moment, where this is my career now, this is what I do,” Matt Groening, co-owner of the store, told Kelowna10. “I was made to hang out with plants and share my plant knowledge.”

Groening said the venture has been a team effort, with his wife Kass helping produce the store design, business ideas, and more.

The smell of fresh air and soil fills the nostrils in the industrial-style shop with collections of unique plants, some local products, and a warm ambience from the lights.

His store is brimming with the likes of Philodendron Glorious, Philodendron Mayoi, Monstera Thai Constellation, and Anthurium Vittarifolium. Basically, if they’re far-flung and tropical, you’ve got a good chance of finding them here.

Coming from an Indigenous background in southern Saskatchewan, Groening said nature has always been important to him.

“I’ve always been in love with nature… I’ve always had plants at home, they were always a hobby,” he said. “Now, I get to come here every single day and focus on plant care, learning new plant ideas, or sciences behind plants, or why they act a certain way.”

Groening said what makes their location different, is they carry exotic species that aren’t typically seen in the Okanagan.

“I import them from overseas, so you don’t really [find] a lot of those rare plants in other garden centres,” he explained. “If people are novice plant lovers or consider themselves brown thumbs, come in and hang out, you’ll learn a lot.”

He hopes to start hosting classes at the store in the future, while also working with surrounding shops to build a strong community.

“The universe helped us out in a big way,” Groening said. “We got the perfect building, location, and neighbours, [we’re] very blessed that way.”

The grand opening will be on Saturday, Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1111 Gordon Dr.