It has been lovely to watch Grounded In Southsea grow over the last 2 years. Catching Sam down at the Love Southsea market selling her plants and signature cork planters has been a regular trip for me, so to hear that she has a new shop opening on Marmion Road brings a smile.
Seeing the Vision
Popping down before the grand opening this wknd, I got a chance to see the vision that Sam has for her plant shop and how it will look when opened. If you think lovely greens and pops of pink with natural wood, you are on the right track. There will be fab plant accessories to buy like plant markers, and plant jewellery that have all been carefully curated to complement the new independent.
Speaking to Sam the owner, she said that she has loved the journey from full-time teacher to dreaming of owning her own shop. Lockdown for many people brought about boredom and a newfound freedom of time and this is when the ideas started to form. Moving house from Hilsea to Southsea meant that Sam needed to dress her home and that is where her love of plants started. Seeing these green leafy accessories lift a room made Sam want to invest more time with plants and she became green-fingered and a real plant enthusiast.
Building a Green Oasis
Taking clippings and trying to find good plants made Sam also think of the plant pots these tranquil botanical treasures would sit in and got Sam talking to her mum. Being a real creative, her mum came up with the idea of using cork. Between them, they made small containers right through to bigger sizes for larger plants. The result is a really cool design that is also very eco-friendly.
Working market stalls on weekends away from work gave Sam a chance to build up a rapport with regular customers who genuinely came back. This gave a natural transition to opening the residence at 104 Marmion Road. Having been a teacher for 27 years, Sam said she has always valued her job in education but that she now has a chance of making the switch to making her hobby a career and dropping her teaching hours to just one day a week.
New Shop
Looking at the layout of the plant shop that has a fab window slogan, ‘Plants Make People Happy,’ you can tell it has been a labour of love. Whether that has been a local artist donating wood for shelves or her mum and dad helping to make a wooden table for the middle of the floor, a lot of love has gone into the build. Her partner has put in lots of hours to bring the whole thing together and it has a warmth to it even with the plastic on the windows, hiding the displays.
I asked Sam what she wanted to achieve with this business and she said that she wants her little shop to be a community space and feel inviting for the public. Offering a place to come and do a workshop or be part of a larger community project allows Grounded In Southsea to lean into the community already there on that stretch. Having raised a lot of money through the local council crowdfund, Sam said she is blown away by the support from the local community and thanks everyone for helping to make her dream come true!
If you want to create an indoor garden then dropping by and seeing the display of lush houseplants to buy is a must. Grounded takes immense pride in sourcing exceptional plants for your home and will help you with all your horticultural needs. You might be an experienced plant collector, loving the chance to explore a new variety or a beginner excited to discover what you can grow easily and dress a corner of your room. Either way, this new plant shop has all you need to help that journey.
Things I love;
The fabulous counter is made with hexagonal tiles that lends itself to the environment and they came from the Tiled shop further up the road.
The plant markers are so cute.
The slogan on the window that says ‘Plants Make People Happy’
Opening Times
Opening on Friday the 29th of September and then having a GRAND OPENING on Saturday the 30th gives you a chance to have a browse and pop down and support.
Opening hours will be;
Tuesday to Saturday 10am-4pm
Sundays 11am-3pm
