Babygreens celebrated the grand opening of their new location at 915 Harris Ave. on Oct. 29. The plant shop was previously in downtown Bellingham on West Chestnut Street. Owner Nick Meza said he had been planning to relocate to Fairhaven for a couple of years leading up to the move.
“We love the charm and vibrancy of Fairhaven; the retail community is strong, and the location is just so sweet,” Meza said in an email. “Becoming a part of this community has been so lovely so far, and we're happy to be able to tap into the south Bellingham area.”
Babygreens joins other members of Fairhaven’s plant community. Rebecca’s Flower Shoppe, A Lot of Flowers and The Garden Room are all nearby, making Fairhaven a plant-lover’s paradise. The owner of A Lot of Flowers, Penny Ferguson, is excited to have Babygreens in the neighborhood.
Home decor merchandise sits on display in Babygreens on Nov. 9, 2022. The business’ expansion into a larger space has allowed it to carry more home goods and plant accessories. // Photo by Zoe Wiley
Ferguson said she hopes Babygreens will bring people to the area that didn’t already shop in Fairhaven for plants, especially college students who may have previously preferred downtown Bellingham. Meza said that the new location is approximately the same distance from Western Washington University’s campus.
Compared to her store, which specializes in gifts and decor as well as house plants and floral arrangements, Ferguson appreciates that Babygreens has a distinctly clean minimalist aesthetic.
“At home, I’m more of a minimalist, even though my store is very much full of other merchandise [aside from plants],” Ferguson said. “[Additionally,] they’re just a nice, friendly staff.”
Babygreens staff are happy to offer their knowledge about the plants for sale in the shop as well as answer any questions about a plant a customer has at home. In the past, they have held events such as potting workshops and plant swaps. The shop is also active on Instagram, posting inventory updates, sales and giveaways for followers.
While the old location holds lots of sentimental value for Meza, he said he loves the history of the new building — the exposed brick wall, large front windows and surrounding retail shops and restaurants make the new space lovable. However, aesthetics and location aren’t the only upgrade for Babygreens.
The new storefront is almost double the square footage of the old one, allowing Babygreens to expand business on multiple levels.
“We can now carry much more product, not just more plants & pottery, but other home goods as well,” Meza said. “We also have much more space for larger and more frequent workshops and educational classes, events, etc.”
A variety of plants and plant pots fill the store and line the wall in Babygreens on Nov. 9, 2022. The store now stocks more pots and plant accessories than ever before. // Photo by Zoe Wiley
This extra space has been filled with new items such as colorful plant pots, macrame plant hangers, incense, propagation stations and more. Plant enthusiasts can shop for tools and accessories while taking in the curated aesthetic of the shop.
The beauty of the new location lends itself to more than just plant shopping — local photographer Dani Winters was drawn to the lush interior. She said she was happy to see Babygreens in a location that was more visible to the public, and that she loved the historic building and the great lighting. Winters has been a long-time customer of the shop.
“I loved the old location because it was within walking distance from my corporate job,” she said. “I started going there when they opened. We would buy plants for our offices and lobby too and sometimes it was just fun to walk around and see what they had that was new.”
Winters is also a plant person, in both her personal and professional life. She has a lot of house plants that she likes to propagate and sell. Her love of house plants expanded to gardening; now Winters takes marketing photos for a local farm.
Moving forward, Babygreens wants to continue to be a creative inspiration and active member of the community.
“Our immediate goal is to get established in our new location and get to know and build connections with all of our new customers while welcoming back all our amazing regulars,” Meza said. “We also plan on further developing our commercial design and install services, as well as host more workshops and events. We hope to reach a new level of local community engagement.”
Zoe Wiley (she/her)
(zoewiley.thefront@gmail.com) is a news reporter for The Front and a combined environmental studies and journalism major at WWU. Her reporting interests include local business news, social issues, the environment and the arts. She enjoys illustration arts, photography, hiking and running.
