Bloomscape Wants You to Be a Better Plant Parent

The just-launched Detroit-based Bloomscape is aware of a couple things. Firstly, that house plants, like sun-filled Australian cafés and open-plan coworking spaces, have taken hold of the subculture where experiences reign supreme. And secondly, that buying a plant isn't an experience most people find memorable. It often involves a big box hardware store where you're responsible for the transport of your new fiddle-leaf fig, or an online delivery service lacking in customer service. Bloomscape hopes to remedy this with a user and design-friendly interaction that lasts long after your plant has arrived at your door.

Founded by Justin Mast and backed by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros frontman Alex Ebert as well as Shinola-alum Bridget Russo, Bloomscape aims to create a digital experience that heeds the Dutch philosophy of gezellig. "Plants help create gezellig. It’s one of those words with no English translation, but it means coziness, an intimate social feeling that you get when you’re in spaces you love with people you love," Mast explains. "I realized that shopping for plants is not gezellig at all."

This is a value that Mast's Rotterdam-born grandparents passed down to him, along with a green thumb. Both sides of his family were horticulturists; his dad's family worked in a greenhouse while his mother's worked with cut flowers. Mast himself grew up working in his family's greenhouse in Michigan before setting off for a career in architecture and design. It's a story come full circle; once again, he finds himself surrounded by plants—at Bloomscape's Detroit offices, plants outnumber employees 20 to one, and gezellig abounds.

Shopping Bloomscape is meant to be simple. Head to their website and you're prompted with small, medium, large, and extra large options. You can then filter the selection by level of care required, availability of natural light, and pet-friendliness. All plants are shipped to your door in a terracotta pot and saucer, packaged in an easy-to-open box. The plants arrive fully grown in a special soil mix, a formula Mast has been perfecting for quite some time.

If you're curious about the life your plant led before it arrived at your door, Mast explains that he sources from specialty growers in Florida. The "teenage" plant is then sent to Bloomscape's greenhouses (located just outside Detroit) where it is repotted and incubated to maturity.

On offer are fan-favorites like Monstera trees, Ponytail Palms, and Hedgehog Aloes. Each arrives with its own care instructions, along with many instructional how-to videos online—an attempt to assuage the fears of even the most anxious first-time plant owners. But, best of all, is Bloomscape's "Plant Mom" feature. When you're in need of some maternal, botanical guidance, just text, email, or tweet photos of your less-than-thriving foliage to Plant Mom (who is indeed, Mast's own mother) and you're promised a response within 24 hours with her diagnosis and prescription. "The site's not just for people who want to buy plants," says Mast. "It's for people who want to own and care for their plants."