ACT II: The SUPERBLOOM Society
Today, we continue our journey of a deep-dive and behind-the-scenes glimpse into the experience of owning and operating a local and independent business. If you’ve not yet had a chance to read Act I, I’d encourage you to start there.
I’m also including a behind-the-scenes video walk-through of some of the changes beginning to take shape in The Lot. It’s at the end of today’s note.
The day after the election, I hosted a pop-up “popsicles + bonfire” gathering in The Lot for anyone who needed a dose of community that day. It was the first-ever gathering in this new space. The only thing inside the gates were the stump seats and some stones for the fire pit. That was it.
And, the gates weren’t even on yet. Those arrived the next week, just in time for the Christmas trees.
And to this day, it remains one of my favorite memories.
Since the 2024 election, (see above) my brain has been stuck on the notion that local and independent businesses like ours need to lean into community as our not-so-secret super power. In large part this is driven by reflecting on the idea of coping through difficult times: when things feel out of our control, how do we regain our footing?
By focusing on what we can control. Our agency.
Botany & Co. – and so many local businesses like ours – are built on the notion of transforming a space into a place. When we first moved into 909 Portage Avenue, it was a “white box” – a term used by developers to describe a blank, move-in ready space.
The Lot Next Door was a mowed vacant lot that barely grew weeds because the soil was so depleted and degraded. The Field was managed by Sunchoke Farms, and I didn’t yet know I actually wanted to be a farmer when I grew up.
These spaces (now places) - and what happens within them - are one thing we can control.
Botany is a post-pandemic business, and I’ve been observing more people (online and in person) talking about reaching a period of deep burnout and isolation driven by that period of upheaval and disruption. I still don’t think our social fabric has fully recovered – I know I don’t see friends as often as I did pre-2020. (Owning a business has a lot to do with that, too…)
I also know I’m not alone in craving a return to analog, in-person, hands-on, tangible things and experiences: things that encourage me to be present, slow down, and regulate my nervous system. Gardening is always my first go-to, but when it’s 95 degrees and the wildfire smoke moves in, I need a backup hobby (or two).
I also miss connecting with people in real life rather than through a tiny rectangular screen that has far more power over me than I’d like, and I know I’m not alone in that feeling, either.
Enter: The SUPERBLOOM Society
While it may feel that this is coming out of the blue, in reality it’s been rolling around in my brain for at least the past 18 months when I first started thinking, “Hmmm… if Botany & Co. ever had a “club” – what might that look like?” There were a lot of unanswered questions and it didn’t feel like I had the time, space, or data to answer them.
That began to change a few months ago after the first edition of SUPERBLOOM dropped on March 1. Something about that moment and finally putting the “SUPERBLOOM” idea out into the universe, catalyzed some creative thinking.
I also love alliteration, so…
The SUPERBLOOM Society is Botany & Co.’s answer to fostering Community with a capital “C” – a group of people with shared interests coming together to connect in real life: to learn together, create together, make new memories together, celebrate milestones and special occasions together, and generally, this is where the nerds go to find our people.
A regular monthly cadence of gatherings (minimum 2/month starting in September) will set the rhythm (a monthly happy hour and a meet-up + hands-on activity), punctuated by special perks around signature events like our markets and customer appreciation weeks. You’ll also have first dibs and enjoy a discounted ticket price for offerings like Plant Bingo and Luminous (last year’s Winter Solstice event, pictured below).
I also want the Society to be an engine for positive and intentional community improvement, and once we hit our first major milestone of 50 members, you’ll collectively unlock a new ability: Shared Direction.
From time to time, I’ll invite you to sound in on improvements or changes you’d like to see in the spaces around us, helping us narrow our focus and invest our resources where they’ll have the greatest community impact/meet the greatest need. In the beginning this will take the form of a simple poll by vote, and eventually, I’d love to create a way for you to suggest your own ideas and projects.
Essentially, I’m inviting you to form a new Community by actively cultivating community and place as part of the experience.
You’ll also enjoy early-access and 10% off all future seasonal drops connected to the SUPERBLOOM publication (3x/year) and early shopping at weekend plug sales.
If you’re already on board, follow the button below to learn more or join.
Or, keep reading on for a little more backstory.
The Real Talk
There’s a through line here I hope you see by now, and I’ll be candid: spring was rough for us. I chalk it up to the state of the world - it’s an undeniable factor weighing on everyone and everything right now.
The numbers aren’t great: we were down about 30% across quarter two (April-June) which historically has been our most abundant season of the year. June and July are a similar story. When the crunch hits this hard, and this fast, it forces creativity and new ways of thinking.
I see this as a positive, and something I’m choosing to lean into right now. It’s why we’re remaking pieces of our business so rapidly – and Act II isn’t the end of my notes to you. We’re in the early stages of a fundamental repositioning and reframing of Botany & Co. as a whole: as a place, a destination, and our role in C/community.
This moment in many ways marks a beginning, not an ending.
I’m leaning into Community as our light in this storm.
As one loyal customer shared with me this past weekend, “It’s about planting seeds of hope.”
I couldn’t agree more.
The SUPERBLOOM Society is both a response to this collective moment we’re living through, while also a venture toward intentionally investing in something it feels like Botany & Co. does well – and could do even better: cultivating community. It’s about reinvesting in ourselves and our place by centering you – the people who call this place home, along with us.
It’s also a new way for you to support what we do. Even if you don’t live nearby: I know we have supporters and followers who aren’t able to visit the shop every few months. If this sounds like you, and you believe in the work we’re doing, how we’re doing it, and what we’re trying to build, the Society is for you, too.
I often return to this quote from Buckminster Fuller: it calms me in moments like this.
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
There were so many bright moments and hopeful experiences this spring, and all of them centered around those moments when community felt strongest. This can look a lot of different ways, and I see our future as one of building wider doors that are open more often and easier to find, metaphorical and otherwise. I see us building a public garden that is everywhere and that is of, by, and for everyone. Inviting you into this process feels only logical, and after five years in business, it also feels like the right time.
Finally, I want to mention that I have ideas for different ways you could become a Society member: $35/month won’t always be the only option, it’s just where we’re starting. I’d love to create a work-share option, whereby we could exchange a contribution of your time/skills for all the perks of a Society membership. I’d love to think about ways this could be gifted, or sponsored. I’m not there quite yet – first, let’s get this new ship off the ground, and if y’all enjoy the Society experience as I dream and hope you will, we’ll cross these bridges soon.
Cheers to you all, plant lovers. No matter how you show up for us – and every other local and independent business right now – thank you. The more you show up, the harder we work.
And so now begins a new adventure.
It always has, and always will, take a village. And y’all are one of the best.
See you soon, plant lovers.
-Ben | Farmer & Founder