By Amy Diaz
Plants make people happy.
That was the message on a wooden sign propped up outside of Golden Dinosaurs Vegan Deli, 2930 Beach Blvd S, Gulfport, on Saturday afternoon. The hundreds of people perusing through succulents, exchanging plant clippings with others and waiting in a line out the door to order plant-based vegan goodies would likely agree.
Indie Flea’s Plant and Garden Market is an all-vegan pop-up sponsored by O’Berry’s Succulents, a local father-daughter business combining plants and pottery.
“This is our fourth one and we do them seasonally, so about every three or four months we will host one,” Jamie O’Berry said. “This is our first one at Golden Dinosaurs and our first market ever in Gulfport.”
Previously the markets have been hosted at Station House and Bandit Coffee Co. in downtown St. Petersburg. Golden Dinosaurs Vegan Deli opened Aug. 2, 2018, and is Gulfport’s first vegan restaurant.
If you’re a regular attendee of the Indie Flea markets, you’ve likely seen the tiny succulents perched inside of teacups, ceramic figurines and sparkly dinosaurs.
“I learned everything I know from my dad. He studied botany and foliage plants in college and I’ve just always been surrounded by plants,” O’Berry said. “It’s just kind of a hobby we started together that kind of grew and grew and took over our lives — in a good way.”
She described her and her father, Dan O’Berry, as collectors. He owned an ornamental concrete business and they share a passion for ceramics and pottery.
“Fifty percent is the succulents and the plants, and the other part is the container we put them in,” O’Berry said. “I had my grandma’s teacups that were just sitting around, so it’s like why not add some life to them?”
Without a physical store, O’Berry Succulents focuses mainly on traveling events and markets, although they have a collaboration with Bodhi Basics, a plant-based skincare shop at 240 Ninth St. N. in St. Petersburg.
“It’s called Plants with Roots,” O’Berry said. “We focus on succulents and cacti that have a really cool folklore history and plants that help purify the air and make your home really healthy and help with allergens.”
In addition to sponsoring the event and setting up a table of plant-pottery creations, O’Berry also organized a clipping exchange. Market-goers were encouraged to bring in five plant clippings and switch them out for five other clippings. Instructions for proper plant clipping were provided on the O’Berry Succulents Instagram account @oberryssucculents.
“This is just a cool community-oriented thing that we do where it’s free and everyone can participate in it,” O’Berry said.
Brennan Rodriguez, 23, was one of many attendees to bring in clippings and swap them out.
“I brought a nerve plant, a devil’s backbone, a neon pothos, and a jade and pearl pothos,” she said. “I’m just trying to find whatever catches my eye that I know how to grow.”
Rodriguez said she attends the Indie Flea markets often, but that this is her second clipping swap.
“I have a big plant room. I’m just learning, but I’m an enthusiast. I needed a hobby to kind of get me through the day,” she said.
It turns out people get into plants in a number of ways.
Amanda Hill went to school for journalism before opening Wild Roots, a shop in downtown St. Petersburg, for plants and handmade goods a year and a half ago.
“I’m a reseller, so about once a week I take a trip and go to as many different plant nurseries as I can,” Hill said. “I just shop at a bunch of different nurseries and pick the best of the best, so my inventory is constantly changing.”
All of her plants are grown in Florida — most of them in Apopka — a city in central Florida known as the Indoor Foliage Capital of the World.
“At our shop, in addition to the plants, we do locally handmade things,” Hill said. “We carry macromet, locally made pottery, candles, apothecary and everything’s made in St. Pete and vegan.”
Hill said with the brick-and-mortar shop at 1949 First Ave. S. Unit A, Wild Roots only does the pop-up markets occasionally.
“This one is so much fun,” Hill said. “It’s definitely a little more special, it’s not like the regular indie market.”
