Over the bulk of the pandemic, folks turned to developing new hobbies to escape the bleakness of lockdown. For Jeannie Psomas, that meant honing her love for plants. A musician who performed in the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and other renown Bay Area orchestras, Jeannie lost her job as live performances came to a complete halt last year. Out of this loss grew her love for houseplants and her desire to share that with others. “I collected so many plants, I was giving them away to friends. And then I was selling them to friends. So I was basically already doing it - might as well get a store front!” explains Jeannie. So 5 weeks ago, Jeannie opened The Plant Lady, a lovely plant store located on Ocean Avenue.
Born and raised in San Francisco, Jeannie chose to open a store on Ocean Ave because of the community orientated feel in the neighborhood.
“It’s awesome - I have regulars now who come in not necessarily to buy a plant but just to chat which is so cool. People really want this neighborhood to have more shops I can tell - it’s very welcoming.” Jeannie explains. She then goes to explain her goals for the shop. She wants The Plant Lady to be a place where someone who is starting their planting journey can come to but also where someone who knows everything about houseplants can also come too.
“You buy a plant to watch it grow, and it’s like a subtle sign that you are going to be there to watch it grow. A reminder that things change and we are moving through time - in some ways it’s grounding for a period that feels so stagnant and bleak.” Jeannie tells me.
I wholeheartedly agree and see Jeannie’s appreciation of plants everywhere in her store. Come by and get a lovely houseplant from The Plant Lady on Ocean Avenue!
-Valentine Batra
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