SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — It's amazing what a houseplant can do.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the phones at Lehigh Valley Home and Garden Center were ringing off the hook with one question at the other end of the line: "Do you carry houseplants?"
"It was during COVID that this houseplant trend really took off," said Cas Szapka, manager of Lehigh Valley Home and Garden Center and self-proclaimed, tongue-in-cheek, "plant influencer."
"No one knew it was an actual greenhouse."Cas Szapka, manager of Lehigh Valley Home and Garden Center
Szapka's parents, Cindy and Joe, opened the store's first location in 1984 in Bethlehem after moving to the area from New Jersey.
Plants, flowers and shrubbery have been the core of the family business for decades. Their second location opened in South Whitehall five years later in 1989.
Szapka's father passed in 2006, but his mother is "still very much involved," he said.
Before the pandemic, the store carried mostly, well, home and garden supplies, except for a few tropical plants that could be suited for indoors.
The greenhouse in the back of the property had fallen into disarray, and instead of plants, stored Weber grills.
"We had to redo the floors so we could water efficiently. We had a leaky roof and had to do all-new heaters," Szapka said. "No one knew it was an actual greenhouse, and it was just there taking up space."
‘We're still learning’
So, Szapks said, he teamed up with co-worker and friend Dakota Yergey of Allentown, and the two crafted a new business model centered around selling trendy, and reasonably priced, houseplants.
"It was a lot of learning because there are a million different names for a million different plants, that's why you have to do a lot of research, and it doesn't ever stop. We're still learning."Dakota Yergey
"It was a lot of learning because there are a million different names for a million different plants," Yergey said. "That's why you have to do a lot of research, and it doesn't ever stop. We're still learning."
Szapka and Yergey also took their curiosities down to Florida, where they partnered with multiple plant suppliers, and, while they were at it, attended a tropical flower show in Tampa.
Although Szapka jokingly described himself as a "plant influencer," real ones do exist — and they turned out in droves, he said.
"I was like, 'Why does this person have cameras following her around?'" said Szapka, who is soft-spoken and shy. "I mean, I guess it was cool."
Renovations to the greenhouse continue , but Szapka said he felt truly ready to introduce it to the public in February 2023, then again this past January.
What once was home to grills is now home to hundreds of species of houseplants from all over the world.
Wandering through the aisles is like wandering through houseplant heaven, each plant its own artist's masterpiece.
The veins of the calathea ornata look like strokes of a paintbrush. The pinks, purples and yellows of the succulent pots pop like a Warhol.
The fiddle leaf figs are music to any plant lover's ears, and the rattlesnake plant looks vicious enough to bite.
"This one is a fan favorite," Szapka said, pointing to a mid-sized potted plant with pink pin-striped leaves. It's the cordyline, or Ti plant, native to Hawaii.
"We sold a ton of these last year," he said. "They're great for porches."
‘Decication and hard work'
Also in high demand are "white fusion" calatheas, orchids and, new this year, succulent pots.
While traffic has been steady, Szapka said he really expects things to get busy once the perennials and annuals make their debut in late April.
" But with houseplants, you can bring that joy inside, They make the room brighter and you happier. It takes dedication and hard work, but I would say it's so rewarding."Dakota Yergey
As for houseplants, converting and renovating the greenhouse gave the Lehigh Valley Home and Garden Center the boost it needed during an unpredictable time.
While other independent greenhouses are struggling, even shuttering as Dan Schantz Greenhouse did, Lehigh Valley Home and Garden is thriving.
And Yergey and Szapka said they are just getting started.
"With annual plants, you go and get them once a year, and that's that. People will always do that," Szapka said.
"But with houseplants, you can bring that joy inside," added Yergey, a proud owner of 200 plants. "They make the room brighter and you happier.
"It takes dedication and hard work, but I would say it's so rewarding."
