Blackpool house plant business puts down roots in lockdown

Richard Oughton who lives near Stanley Park said that the coronavirus lockdown had taken so much from so many people, but had given back the opportunity to find some joy in the simpler things in life.

He has seen his Roots Plant Life business grow rapidly as people have had to spend more time at home during the pandemic and have turned their attention to making their homes more special.

Richard, a professional photographer, who has two images in Rankin's 2020 on Sky Arts at the moment, was made redundant from his full time job at the end of last year.

He thought that he would take the opportunity to retrain as a barber, something he had always wanted to do. But then lockdown hit in Spring and his course ended.

He had already started his Roots Plant Life side business from home, but as lockdown progressed he got more and more orders on his Facebook site.

He said: "Four week into my barbering course lockdown hit and that was the end of that. It also hit my photography business too.

"I had started Roots Plant Life at the end of the year before as it was something I had always been interested in, propagating house plants.

"My mum has always been a keen gardener and we have always had orchids in the home.

"My partner Dawn and I run it. We had been doing some things with the Repair Cafe at the Art B&B at weekends with the houseplants and since Spring it has really flourished.

"It has been great for people that can't get out and about, really good for mental health and well-being to have plants in you home. When you deliver a plant it brings such joy to people. It just makes people happy and restores your faith in humanity.

"It has been great for people with young children to showing how to care for and propagate house plants."

Richard has used his photography skills in the plants business too to present the items. Each plant is delivered with a care card and can be combined with photo cards as a present.

"It has really doing well, it's been amazing really. On a Thursday we can have up to 17 deliveries. I hand pick the plants and can have anything up to 30 at any one time on my table.

Richard, 47, has around 90 house plants of his own. Popular sellers are Watermelon Peperomia, Philodendron Birkin and the Mind Your Own Business plant

And he said he uses independent suppliers wherever possible.

He added: "We get pots from a potter in Poulton, Artists Poulton, and we also support a family business in Wales who farm whelks. They collect the empty whelk shells and crush them to use on the soil for cactus plants to put vital minerals into the soil.

"On the Roots Plant Life Facebook page, I give advice and have videos on such things as re-potting you houseplants and how to propagate them."

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