Five friends, a room full of plants, community support. What more could you ask for?
Well, if you ask Heather Bringhurst, Kellie Lee, Carrie Felt, Kami Asay and Jennifer Poulsen, they pretty much have it all, and they’re enjoying every second of their new adventure together.
The new adventure for these five best friends is Deeply Rooted Plant Co. in Spanish Fork, which, according to Poulsen, is more than just a plant store.
“Deeply Rooted is more of an experience,” Poulsen said. “We, of course, sell a wide variety of plants, but we also have gifts and we’ve begun offering other fun and educational activities throughout the month. We’ve started offering wellness courses where a life coach comes in once a month and hosts a wellness night, which has been super well received. We have young women’s groups that come in. We’re hoping to get to where we can offer date nights and plant nights where we teach people how to plant certain plants. We’re excited!”
The store opened on November 29, 2024, but Poulsen said that the idea to open a plant store is something that they have wanted to do for a long time.
“We have been best friends for years and years,” Poulsen said. “Two have been friends since high school, two are sisters, and we’ve all lived by each other and been linked in different ways. A couple of us had kids that played baseball together. We’re just intertwined in a lot of different ways, but we have been friends for a lot of years. We would go on girls’ trips together and travel and we’d always shop and go into these cute boutique plant stores and often talked about opening one someday.”
With “someday” now a reality, they are working hard to make sure that Deeply Rooted stays “rooted” in the heart of what the community needs, which is love, connection and life. Poulsen said that the store’s name aims to encompass exactly that.
“We actually secured the name and the domain years ago just thinking if we ever opened a plant store, we want it to be called Deeply Rooted because we felt like it covered all areas of our lives,” Poulsen said. “We’re rooted in our families, we’re rooted in our faith, our community and we’re rooted in our friendship.”
Poulsen acknowledged that starting a business with friends and family could put a strain on relationships, which is why she said that they are keeping what brought them together a priority in all their business decisions.
“We built it from the ground up and did all the work on it, so it’s been good,” Poulsen said. “I think what we love about this the most is that we did this as best friends and it hasn’t hindered our friendship in any way. If anything it’s made it better cause we get to spend so much time together and I think it’s just given us a chance to see more the strengths in each other just as we’ve naturally gravitated into roles and it’s just been awesome. We all bring something different to the business, and it’s gone better than we ever would have hoped.”
Lee and Felt agreed.
“These girls are the best girls I know,” Felt said. “I would do any business with them. I love just spending time with them in the shop and building this dream together.
“I loved the idea of starting a business with my besties because it’s two of my favorite things. Plants and friends!” Lee added.
All noted how great the community has been to welcome them in and support their new blooming business.
“I think we weren’t quite ready for how great it was going to be and how well-received it was in the community,” Poulsen said. “It’s been awesome and it kind of threw us for a curveball. Just our opening weekend was unbelievable. We’ve had so many repeat customers that have just become friends and they come in and we just love to sit and talk and learn about them. I think that’s part of the draw for people to come is because we really do interact so much with our customers.”
One of the best parts about opening a plant shop in the middle of the holiday season is the ability to celebrate the holidays right out of the gate, and these five friends said that the holidays have been one of the highlights of the experience so far.
“We love to recognize the holidays!” Pouslen said. “We’re all decked out for Valentine’s Day. We’ve brought in some fun, cute plants like Hoya hearts and string of hearts and different plants to kind of go along with the holiday. We have fun, cute themed pots and candles and socks and all sorts of fun different holiday-themed items. We deck out our stores, so it was all Christmas when we opened and now it’s all pinks and hearts and Valentine’s.”
Along with the Valentine’s Day theme Deeply Rooted is holding a self-love night that is yet to be determined date-wise, but Poulsen said that the evening will be hosted by a life coach who will discuss things people can do to show love for themselves. Of course, participants will have the chance to pot a plant to take home.
“It’s just a great place to be,” Felt said. “Come in and see us. From our propagation wall, to our ‘legalized potting,’ to the cutest bathroom you’ve ever seen. It’s just a great store.”
Deeply Rooted Plant Co. is located at 1348 E Center St. in Spanish Fork. For more information, follow them on Instagram @deeply_rooted_plant_co or on the company’s website deeplyrootedplant.co.
