A Taste of the Tropics Arriving in Northfields


Mystery over new shop that is "not another estate agent's" revealed


New Northfields shop due to open Saturday 8 May

A former BA flight attendant who has built a passion project into a new ''green'' business will be opening his first shop in Northfields.

Lewis Cox from Hanwell says his parents were keen gardeners and he has always liked having plants around.

He had worked for BA for 13 years, and during that time visited many exotic locations and spent time at various Botanical Gardens throughout the world, seeing plants in their natural habitats.

After being made redundant last year due to the pandemic, he set up Urban Tropicana which, over the last six months, has been a popular addition selling a wide range of house plants at both Chiswick Flower Market and in Dickens Yard.

He says, '' My husband Steve and I had also just become parents so there was no time to sit around. I’d always had a passion for gardening and houseplants (inherited from my parents I guess) and I would share quite a lot of my plant photos on social media. My posts attracted quite a bit of attention and people started to ask where they could buy the plants that I was showing. So we built a website and started attending outdoor markets in august 2020 selling the plants we love.''



Urban Tropicana at Dickens Yard

Many people have found a new passion for gardening and plants throughout the various lockdowns and Lewis says they wanted to show off the enormous variety that were available. Stocks include easy to care for and more rare plants for seasoned experts.


Haworthia Big Band

He believes the most common mistake people often make when tending, is overwatering them and advises that if the soil is moist it doesn’t need watering. The best way to test is to put your finger in about two inches and if the soil is dry only then it needs water.

Retro greens such as cheese, snake and spider plants are apparently very popular now as are the ones thought to help purify the air like Peace Lilies, Zeylanica (snake plant), Chrysanthemums and many more.

The new store at 232 Northfield Avenue will stock a wide range of greenery and pots and Lewis is looking forward to having a local base. He adds, '' We know plants are beneficial for our physical health as they’re proven to remove harmful toxins from the air we breathe but for us, and possibly more importantly they’re beneficial for our mental health. For every minute you spend tending to your plants it’s a minute you’re not thinking about the times we’re currently living in. During lockdown plants have provided some much needed escapism.''

Plants can be picked up in store or delivered free of charge locally and free National delivery (on orders over fifty pounds).

West London's Jungle Look Specialists - Check urbantropicana on Instagram for more images

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.

3 May 2021

 

Annemarie Flanagan