The sprouting signs of spring are ever-present at Planted, a sweet boutique devoted to nature’s finest purifiers: greenery. Putting your best thumb forward is a cinch at the downtown-Carmel shop, which looks like the potting shed of your dreams with thick ferns and pretty urns scattered amid rustic work tables. Owner and landscape designer Tracy Cox (pictured, with daughter Christina) has played chlorophyll matchmaker for some of Indiana’s biggest names (people famous enough to request her discretion and keep her work hidden behind privacy fences), so trust her recommendations for the best soil and plant life to suit your schedule. While many of the A-list designs she sketches in the corner of her store might leave you green with envy, starting small is still a simple feat. Try contemporary kits from Chive (succulent cups, $5.75), or take home a sculptural aloe. Can’t even keep a cactus healthy? Look toward the sleek bioethanol fireplaces instead ($150 to $499). 14 S. Range Line Rd., Carmel, 317-379-9691
This article appeared in the May 2014 issue.
