Photography by Danny Fulgencio
When it comes to niche retail, one charming boutique is not enough for our neighborhood.
We need multiple chocolatiers, more than one popsicle place and all of the craft coffee.
The same is true for plant shops. The Bishop Arts District now has two.
Oasis Plant Shop first opened in the summer of 2018 and has since grown and moved into a renovated cottage on West Eighth. Shoot an arrow one block over, and it might hit House of Plants, the new greenhouse from the owners of Dirt Flowers.
Even before the pandemic, some millennials were spending thousands a year on houseplants. While they’re less likely to buy a house than previous generations, those that value well-being over wealth-building prefer a rental with southern light. Fiddle-leaf figs, snake plants and succulents trend on social media, and #MonsteraMonday has 450,000 posts on Instagram.
Rearranging, repotting and propagating houseplants are pastimes that are here to stay.
From the outside, Oasis Plant Shop looks like the rich-hippie bungalow of your dreams. Step inside and find wall-to-wall green in four rooms, all with varied lighting.
Find the trendiest houseplants here, along with knowledgeable shopkeepers who can offer advice on the needs of your new potted baby or the best plant to buy for your space.
Two-inch pots with tiny tropicals cost $4. A “zebra plant” striped aloe in a 6-inch pot costs about $12 and makes a popular gift.
The largest potted trees sell for about $140.
Oak Cliff residents Hannah Street and Bethany Mieth originally opened the shop because they wanted to start a business, and they saw a demand for houseplants in this market.
They started out in a shared space in the old Oak Cliff Mercantile building and moved to their current location last year.
Oasis Plant Shop, 416 W. Eighth St., oasisplantshop.com
Sonya and Chris Eudaley opened Dirt Flowers over 10 years ago, originally living in the loft space above their Bishop Arts floral studio and gift shop.
Now the Eudaleys operate Dirt, with several employees, as well as House of Dirt, the event venue on West Seventh Street that opened in 2016.
Those two businesses go hand-in-hand, and Sonya Eudaley says business hasn’t been bad since the start of the pandemic.
They recently opened House of Plants in a greenhouse the Eudaleys built themselves out of recycled materials behind House of Dirt (enter through the alley). They planned to use it as a staging area and nursery for their floral business, but the idea evolved, and now the greenhouse sells small plants that are harder to find, as well as their proprietary potting mix and the glass mulch that Dirt uses for succulent designs. The greenhouse opened in October by appointment only, but shop hours are expected to begin after Thanksgiving.
House of Plants, 408 W. Seventh St., houseofdirt.com
Two more places to buy plants in Oak Cliff
Arcadia Park Nursery, 5205 W. Jefferson Blvd.
This no-frills independent nursery is worth a visit for inexpensive garden basics as well as the occasional harder-to-find Texas native. Aside from outdoor plants, the nursery usually keeps a selection of succulents and potted buddies to take home for not much green. The shop recently began accepting credit cards.
Lowe’s Home Improvement, 1710 Chalk Hill Road
Yes, this is a huge national chain, but bear with us here. It’s easy to pull in and out the back way, from Chalk Hill Road, to avoid traffic on Cockrell Hill at Interstate 30. And when you catch them on markdown day, the clearance rack offers steals.
