New Kensington woman's love for house plants blossoms into plant expo in Butler County

What started as a simple love for house plants has flourished into a plant expo set to take place Sunday in Jefferson, Butler County.

Natalie Reed of New Kensington has always had house plants. Now, she is sharing her affinity for plants by spearheading an event dubbed A Planty Affaire, which will bring together local plant enthusiasts and growers.

“It’s a popular thing right now,” Reed said. “House plants kind of blew up during covid. It was a reminder that time was passing even though we were all stuck at home.”

Reed said her home had always had plants, but she used her stimulus checks to buy more expensive house plants.

To try to recoup some of the cash she’d spent, Reed began to cut and propagate some of her plants, selling plants on Facebook. Eventually, her presence in buy-sale-trade Facebook groups grew to include about 60 buyers and thousands of comments.

“I thought, wow, there’s potential here,” she said. “There were a lot of people doing what I was doing.”

That inspired Reed to host an in-person event, bringing plant lovers face-to-face. She said she began planning for A Planty Affaire about six weeks ago.

About 20 vendors will be present at the event at Cabot Barn Church of the Holy Dissension. So far, about 300 people have expressed interest in the event on Facebook.

“We’re super excited for it,” Reed said. “It’s something we can all relate to. It just gets you outside, gets you into nature.”

The event will feature some vendors inside the barn, with others showcasing their plants outside at tents or drive-up units. The site is on a large farm with field parking, Reed said.

Vendors will be selling an array of items, ranging from pet-friendly plants and plant-themed sugar cookies to organic vegetable seeds and potting mix made from recycled materials in Pittsburgh. Other vendors will offer pots, house plants, perennials, jewelry, homemade soap, bread and rare cacti.

“They’re talented people,” Reed said of the participating vendors. “Everybody is local.”

Some of the vendors own small businesses in the surrounding communities. Others sell goods online through Etsy shops, she said.

For Reed, a stay-at-home mom who homeschools, focusing on plants is a hobby that gave her “another purpose.”

The event will also feature a silent auction, with proceeds benefiting Chrystal’s Army, which is raising money for the late Chrystal Fry’s family.

Fry, of Vandergrift, was diagnosed last year with leukemia. A wife and mother of two young daughters, Fry owned and operated Picture Perfect Hair Studio. She was Reed’s best friend.

“She hit so many road bumps,” Reed said of Fry, who died about three weeks ago after developing pneumonia.

“She knew a lot of people, and anybody that knew her would tell you how much they adore her,” Reed said.

Reed said she is hopeful the community will show up to support Fry’s family and the local vendors participating in the event.

She also wants people to simply enjoy coming together after a year that forced many to stay apart.

“With covid restrictions starting to loosen up a little bit, it’s a good opportunity to come outside and socialize,” she said.