Shop around the corner

Going green

Looking for that perfect plant to liven up your apartment this winter? Need help with that rooftop garden this spring? Sprout Home is your one-stop shop for it all

By Kristen Strobbe

With the winter months descending upon Chicago, the wind picking up speed and the sun making less and less of an appearance, local home and garden store, Sprout Home, offers a little green to keep warm.

After 15 years of working in the corporate world, Sprout Home owner, Tara Heibel, decided it was time to strike out on her own.

“I always had an interest in plants and gardening, so I taught myself, came up with a business plan and opened the store in March 2003,” Heibel says.

Heibel set up shop in West Town, just a little south of the Wicker Park neighborhood. The shop has two components, greenery and home furnishings. On a chilly winter day, one can walk inside the enclosed shop and breathe in plant air and take solace in the jungle-like atmosphere. During the spring and summer months, the adjacent outdoor green space is filled with flowers and other plants.

“During the summer, we get a lot of people who just come in to walk around the outdoor garden,” Heibel says. “Sometimes it gets so huge that you can’t see the sidewalk, and it’s like you’re not even in the city anymore.”

Sprout Home is not like the average floral shop, and Heibel said she’s proud the store isn’t modeled after chain stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot. There is little structure in how the plants and products are displayed, and Heibel works to make the space as aesthetically pleasing as possible for customers.

“People call us the punk rock garden store because we do offer some very different and freaky plants,” Heibel suggests with a laugh. “But we wanted to be different and yet still offer plants that are attainable for everyone and that fit people’s needs and environment.”

The modern feel of the store shows in the products offered. Heibel works with local designers in bringing in the home furnishings as well as filling the garden area with greenery that lends itself to the urban setting of Chicago.

“Seventy-five percent of our customers are working with a rooftop garden or a very small lawn area,” Heibel says. “So yeah, we kind of specialize in making gardens happen in unlikely places.”

The staff at Sprout Home will help customers find the right plant, flowers or tree for the space available and level of plant care experience.

“After a few questions, we will know what plant is right for you, so we encourage everyone to come in and pick up some green, regardless of expertise level,” Heibel says.

If customers are looking to start their own garden or “creative plant space” and need extra help, Sprout Home offers design consultation and free installation. The store has helped numerous customers, including restaurant owners, with creating an outdoor space in the city.

While the store does tend to get fewer visitors in the winter, that doesn’t stop Heibel from incorporating the season into the shop. For instance, every Christmas season, Sprout Home’s outdoor garden turns into a Christmas tree farm.

“We fit a lot of evergreens into that outdoor space,” Heibel says. “And people just love seeing and smelling the trees.”

The store also offers wreaths, “giant” poinsettias and plenty of indoor plants for people to choose from to keep the green in their home all season.

“We don’t close shop in the winter, and we don’t expect our customers to either,” Heibel says. “I’m always working on bringing in new plants and changing up our offerings so that we have a huge mix of plants and flowers for our customers to choose from during every season.”

All of the home furnishings at Sprout are available for purchase online at their website. After the online store opened, Heibel noticed a lot of order requests were coming from Brooklyn, and when Sprout Home’s former manager moved to New York, Heibel saw a perfect opportunity to expand to the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.

“Williamsburg is very much like the West Town neighborhood, very eclectic and growing rapidly,” Heibel says. “I like being able to say I’m going to New York on business when it’s actually very fun for me to go up there and see the store.”

Before she opened Sprout Home in Chicago, Heibel would have to drive an hour or so outside of the city to get the type of “out-of-the-ordinary” plants she was wanted.

“I saw a need for an independent, non-conservative plant domain that focused on the chic and modern vibe that many urban dwellers identify with,” Heibel says. “So along came Sprout Home, and I dig every minute of it…pun intended.”

Sprout Home is located at 745 N Damen Avenue in Chicago. Call 312-226-5950 or log on to www.sprouthome.com

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