RICHMOND, Va. – Plant lovers gathered at Triple Crossing Beer to buy, sell and trade houseplants Sunday.
During the early stages of the pandemic, collecting plants became extremely popular while many people worked from home.
The prices of plants jumped in 2020, so Richmond native Carl Alexander created a Facebook group to host affordable plant swap events.
The first swap was held last summer and since then Alexander has hosted several events at area restaurants that were negatively impacted by the pandemic.
“I started a group, I found a really great team, and we’ve been trying to push this hobby out to Richmond,” Alexander said. “Because it has so many wonderful benefits: self esteem, mental health – all sorts of things. And it’s just great to feel that you belong to a community.”
Alexander said plant lovers travel from all over the Commonwealth to buy, sell and trade exotic houseplants.
Attendance for the events has grown from 20 to 30 people to more than 500 people, according to Alexander.
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