This Charming Atlanta Home Shows Exactly Why 2020 Is the Year of the Houseplant

This artsy couple own an Atlanta plant shop and live in their own perfect jungle full of low-maintenance houseplants and artwork.

October 30, 2020

By: Kassondra Cloos

Related To:

Plant People

Cary Smith, left, and Libby Hockenberry, right, opened their plant store the Victorian Atlanta in 2017 and moved into new quarters earlier this year. Libby’s parents sparked her love for plants from a young age, and it’s a love she and Cary continue to cultivate together as they’ve collected hundreds of plants to decorate their home. “My parents were huge gardeners when I was little, and we were always out working in the yard,” Libby says. When she went off to college, her mom sent her away with cuttings from her houseplants, which Libby says were very comforting for her to have around. Now, she and Cary are instilling that love in countless others who come to them for advice on fostering their own plant-filled homes.

How Two Plant Store Owners Turned Their Home Into Its Own Enchanted Forest

Libby and Cary’s Atlanta home is a three-bedroom, two-bath Craftsman-style bungalow built in 1924. They’ve been painting, decorating, adopting more plants and, more recently, building backyard greenhouses in their spare time away from the shop. Plant parenthood has exploded in trendiness this year as more people are spending far more time at home, so we asked them where to start if you want to cultivate your own jungle —no green thumb required.

Charleston Green Walls and Accents Echo the Victorian Atlanta Shop

Throughout their house, signs of Libby and Cary’s creativity add unique and striking touches to their home jungle. Many rooms are decorated with pieces they’ve made or built throughout the years, like the wood and metal sculpture here, which is an abstract orchid Libby created her senior year of art school. The leather couch is from Article.

A Photographer's Eye

Cary is a talented photographer, and studied photography in college. Many of the photographs he took in school are now beautiful decor in their home. This poster is a custom print of images he took of hunters for a school project and has had for many years, but it looks perfectly suited to this corner of the living room. The plant on the floor to the left is one of the oldest they have in their house, an Adenia spinosa that may be 30 to 40 years old.

Stacked Photography Books Create a Vignette

A heap of books can look messy without a bookshelf to contain them, but Cary and Libby have expertly organized this chaos into its own visual element. These stacks of photography books —and, of course, some about plants, too — have been painstakingly collected by Cary over the years. The plant to the right is a Phyllanthus mirabilis, from Thailand. "The leaves are very animated," Cary says. During the day, the leaves are open as they are here, and at night they close up. "It's a lot of fun to watch," Libby says.

DIY Origami Chair

This copper chair Libby bought from Blu Dot as a gift for Cary has a DIY twist: It arrived as a flat piece of metal, and Libby had to bend and hammer it into shape herself. It was hard to do, she says, but worth it. Its understated beauty stands out against the dark Charleston Green walls.

This Gorgeous Designer Chair Was Almost Garbage

When Libby was fresh out of college, she worked as a personal assistant for the owners of a furniture design company in Atlanta. This chair was almost junk — it had a cosmetic scratch on it, and it was going to get tossed. But Libby persuaded her boss to let her keep it, and it’s long been one of her beloved pieces of furniture. She and Cary also collect taxidermy — the fox on the bookshelf is named Joey, after the friend who gave him to Cary when he moved to New York.

Skulls and Taxidermy Complement the Natural Vibe

Plants and animals just go well together. It's convenient, then, that Cary's love for plants is paired with a fascination for taxidermy. These skulls and bear head and deer head were all given to Cary by friends and family who collected or found them.

Funky Vintage Portraits

When one of Libby’s friends moved away, she started selling and getting rid of a lot of things, including a lot of “funky” artwork she’d collected over the years. Libby loved all these portraits — even though she doesn’t know who they’re of — and bought quite a few of them to hang together. “I bought all the portraits because I thought [they] were beautiful,” Libby says. “Like, these paintings need to be kept together … I just love it.” The large plant by the window is a Philodendron warszewiczii.

Plants Add a Dreamy Touch

There’s something about putting plants in a bathroom, particularly in the shower, that just suddenly intensifies the dreaminess of the place. Plants like these aroids love humidity, so they’ll love your bathroom — particularly if you have a window in there to offer some natural lighting. And who doesn’t want an actual rainforest to go along with their rain shower?

Painting a Fireplace Adds Contrast to a Room

Libby and Cary have painted many of their walls the same rich, deep Charleston Green color as their fireplace here, which echoes their shop. "We love dark greens and blacks," Libby says. They plan to paint the exterior of their house and some of their interior doors the same color. The wooden piece above the fireplace is a vintage dough bowl. The sansevieria on the desk, also known as a snake plant, is a great entry-level houseplant, Libby and Cary say.

Snake Plants are Ideal Starter Houseplants

Snake plants are really beautiful and, luckily, really easy to care for, Cary and Libby say. They can survive in a wide range of lighting conditions and they’re hard to under- or over-water. They’re great starter plants for novices.

Learn More : 30 Indoor Plants for Low Light

The All-Purpose Snake Plant

A large snake plant — which they’ve potted in terra cotta like many of the other plants throughout the home — on Cary and Libby's back porch pops against their back door and exterior wall. Terra cotta just doesn’t get old, no matter how much of it you use, and neither do snake plants, which were some of the very first plants Libby started out with. “There’s kind of a snake plant for everybody, I think,” she says.

DIY Greenhouse for Desert Plants

Libby and Cary have built several small greenhouses in their back yard to allow them to experiment with new kinds of plants to sell in their shop, so that they’re experts on everything before they try and sell them to anyone else. In this greenhouse, they leveled the ground, covered it with Indiana creek gravel, and built a nurturing environment for desert plants that wouldn’t otherwise do so well in the Atlanta humidity.

Fill All Your Brightest Corners With Sun-Loving Plants

Libby’s dad has long had these vintage wooden lockers in his basement workshop. She asked him for them when she noticed they were being underutilized and he originally said he didn’t want to get rid of them, but then he surprised Libby with them as a gift when she and Cary moved into their new house earlier this year. “I love them,” Libby says. “They’re just a neat little storage area." The plant on the left is a Philodendron gloriosum, a plant native to Colombia that's one of Libby's favorites. On the right is a variety of an anthurium plant.

Terra Cotta Pots Are the Way to Go

Of course, you can buy any kind of plant pots that suit your liking. But Libby and Cary say they’ve been pushing terra cotta on their customers for how well it blends with almost any decor. Verdant plants against tan terra cotta is a classic look that’s hard to beat — and nearly impossible to clash with. Cement or concrete potters have also grown in popularity recently for similar reasons. “Incorporating green and terra cotta warms up the whites people decorate with,” Libby says.

The Trending Monstera Plant

You've definitely seen monstera plants before, even if you've never heard the name. These plants with holey leaves are all over Instagram right now, Libby says. Luckily, they're pretty easy to care for indoors, and they love humidity. Cary and Libby keep a monstera in their shower.

The Victorian Atlanta's Greenhouse

The indoor greenhouse at The Victorian Atlanta is where Libby and Cary keep some of their more fragile and expensive plants, and anything that needs more care. Against the back wall, that shelf of sacks is an array of custom soil mixtures they and their employees mix up in the store. They did a ton of research to create mixes ideal for tropical plants, aroids and desert plants, and they say it makes a huge difference in plants' quality of life. "Our customers have finally figured out that it's gold," Libby says.

The Houseplant Craze

When everyone started working from home early this year, houseplants suddenly experienced a massive popularity boom, Cary and Libby say. Their plant shop, The Victorian Atlanta, was deemed an essential business on account of selling living goods, so after an initial brief shutdown, they opened an online shop, offered curbside pickup and were suddenly busier than ever. “Humans have this innate sense to try to connect with nature and living things,” Libby says. “I think when COVID happened, so many people were stuck in apartments and high rise buildings and couldn’t go outside or see people, so they needed to surround themselves with any sort of living thing.” Houseplants clean our air, improve our moods and are just “intrinsically good for us,” she adds.

How to Choose the Right Houseplants for Your Home

Houseplants have been Insta-popular for quite some time, and people often go into the shop looking for things they’ve seen online, Libby and Cary say. But if you want to have a successful indoor jungle of your own, you should take a step back and evaluate what will actually work in your space. They suggest going into a locally owned plant store near you to ask for suggestions from someone who really knows what they’re talking about — big box home improvement stores are less likely to have the expertise you need to guide you. You’ll want to evaluate how much natural light you get, how much care you can provide, your experience level with identifying and troubleshooting plant warning signs and so on.

Hardy South African Plants Greet Customers

The tall and skinny plants on the left and right of the Victorian Atlanta's entrance are alluaudia varieties, originally from Madagascar. The shop used to be in a smaller area of the Ponce City Market, kind of a store within another store. It has grown since the summer, when Cary and Libby moved it to a more standalone part of the market.

Alluaudia Plants Great Choice for a Wide Variety of Climates

Here you can see a closeup of an alluaudia plant, which is native to Madagascar. "I am in love with African plants," Cary says. "What's amazing about them [alluaudia] is they can take a lot of rainwater as opposed to a lot of other cacti," which means they're well-suited to being outdoor plants in humid Atlanta.

Be Realistic About the Time You Can Give to Your Plants

Libby and Cary estimate that they have hundreds of plants in and around their home. But even though they have so many, their care routine is shockingly simple: Basically, they water everything once a week. "We choose plants to be easy in our home," Libby says. They set themselves up for success by using plant-specific soil, collecting rainwater and potting everything in terra cotta, but you won't find them spending hours misting each one.

Be Strategic About How You Choose Your Plants

Make sure you're choosing your houseplants for more than just their good looks: You want something that will thrive in the space you have for it. Don't be afraid of killing a few when you get started, they say: They've not always been perfect plant parents, either. "We didn't start off with all the rare stuff," Libby says. She recommends people avoid diving right into more expensive plants, even if they look amazing on Instagram.

Pot Your Plants in Neutral Planters

Terra cotta and concrete have become super-trendy for houseplants because it's just hard to beat how well they go with almost anything, Libby and Cary say. Case in point: they match perfectly with this mural by artist Alyssa Cassatto.

Cary and Libby Share a Love for Botanic Gardens

When Cary and Libby met, he didn't know much about plants at all, she says. But she got him hooked. Whenever they traveled, they would make a point to visit botanic gardens or a cool local plant store. "On those journeys, we found so many unique plant shops all over the country," Libby says. Cary would always dream about opening one of their own in Atlanta, which didn't, at the time, have the kind of place they'd found in so many other cities. Finally, in 2017, they made it happen with the opening of the Victorian Atlanta.

Multiply Your Houseplants With Cuttings

Once you get comfortable with a care routine for your plants and have a good understanding of what they need and how to help them thrive, you might try taking cuttings of them to start growing siblings you can repot. The tabletop plant is a cutting from an Anthurium clavigerum Libby and Cary have in their bedroom. Whenever it gets too tall, they cut off the top and use it as a centerpiece and sell cuttings in their store. The big tree in the back is a Dracaena reflexa, which thrives in this corner that doesn't receive as much natural light as other parts of the house.

An In-Home Potting Bench

This adorable workspace where Cary and Libby pot plants in their home is decorated with art that shows Libby's long-running love for flora. The plaques above the bench are orchids Libby crafted by cutting and welding metal.

Variegated Plants Are Trending

Variegated plants, or plants whose leaves have more than one color, are super hot right now, Cary says. They come in many different varieties and can be quite easy to grow if you pair them with spaces in your home with the right lighting. Seek advice from your local plant shop experts if you're not sure what's ideal for your house.

Pretty Calathea Majestica Plants Tuck Themselves In At Night

The gorgeous plant to the right is a Calathea majestica. At night, it curls up its leaves, almost like it's tucking itself in for bed. Libby and Cary say they love to hear it waking up in the morning as it relaxes its leaves into the wall. "At night it's so funny looking," Libby says.

Plants Liven Up White and Neutral Spaces

Libby and Cary just moved into their home earlier this year, and it's still a work in progress. The bright greens of these plants add liveliness to this otherwise white corner, but their plan is to paint this door the same deep Charleston Green as their fireplace. To the right of the calathea is a climbing philodendron plant, which will grow up and around the pole they use to simulate a tree trunk.

Waking Up to Houseplants Can Improve Your Mood

It's not just common sense that plants are good for you — science has proven that they can improve your mood, reduce your stress levels and just generally increase your happiness. A NASA study found that houseplants dramatically increase indoor air quality and can remove up to 87 percent of air toxins in just one day. "That's why a lot of big offices put plants around," Libby says. So if your home is now your office, too, you can think of houseplants not as frivolous decoration but as investments in your mental well-being.

Learn More : Health Benefits of Houseplants

What You Need to Know Before You Dive In

Every plant is different, so it's important to have a good sense for what you're getting into before you just start buying everything that looks pretty. Like any other trade, the best approach is to start researching — or consulting the experts at your local plant store who can answer all your burning questions — before you go too wild. "I don't think anybody's born naturally just knowing how to have plants," Libby says. "A lot of people maybe have that skill because it was something that was passed down to them from their parents or their grandparents, but if you grew up in a household that didn't really have a lot of plants, unless you all of a sudden care about changing that, you can't just expect to bring home all these beautiful green things in your home and decorate your house with them, and then expect them to stay alive without putting in the time and effort that it takes."

So proceed strategically, but don't get discouraged. Some of the most beautiful plants, like the monstera variety to the right, which is one of the plants everyone is "freaking out about" on Instagram right now, Libby says, are fairly easy to care for, along with the aforementioned snake plant, ZZ plant and marble queen pothos plant.

Learn More : Top 10 Houseplants

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Photo By: Tomas Espinoza

Photo By: Jamestown

Photo By: Tomas Espinoza

Photo By: Jamestown

Photo By: Cary Smith

Photo By: Jamestown

Photo By: Tomas Espinoza

Photo By: Cary Smith

Photo By: Four Corners Photography

Photo By: Tomas Espinoza

Photo By: Jamestown

Photo By: Tomas Espinoza

This Charming Atlanta Home Shows Exactly Why 2020 Is the Year of the Houseplant

Related To:

Plant People

How Two Plant Store Owners Turned Their Home Into Its Own Enchanted Forest

Charleston Green Walls and Accents Echo the Victorian Atlanta Shop

A Photographer's Eye

Stacked Photography Books Create a Vignette

DIY Origami Chair

This Gorgeous Designer Chair Was Almost Garbage

Skulls and Taxidermy Complement the Natural Vibe

Funky Vintage Portraits

Plants Add a Dreamy Touch

Painting a Fireplace Adds Contrast to a Room

Snake Plants are Ideal Starter Houseplants

The All-Purpose Snake Plant

DIY Greenhouse for Desert Plants

Fill All Your Brightest Corners With Sun-Loving Plants

Terra Cotta Pots Are the Way to Go

The Trending Monstera Plant

The Victorian Atlanta's Greenhouse

The Houseplant Craze

How to Choose the Right Houseplants for Your Home

Hardy South African Plants Greet Customers

Alluaudia Plants Great Choice for a Wide Variety of Climates

Be Realistic About the Time You Can Give to Your Plants

Be Strategic About How You Choose Your Plants

Pot Your Plants in Neutral Planters

Cary and Libby Share a Love for Botanic Gardens

Multiply Your Houseplants With Cuttings

An In-Home Potting Bench

Variegated Plants Are Trending

Pretty Calathea Majestica Plants Tuck Themselves In At Night

Plants Liven Up White and Neutral Spaces

Waking Up to Houseplants Can Improve Your Mood

What You Need to Know Before You Dive In

Shop This Look

Tour an Atlanta Craftsman Bungalow Filled With Art, Family Heirlooms and Lots of Creativity 19 Photos

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