Shelves packed with pots, leaves hanging overhead and barely enough floorspace to walk around, entering The Aroid Attic is an immersion in plants.
Cheltenham’s newest houseplant shop is so packed it’s important to move slowly so nothing is missed. There are trailing plants with dainty leaves, spiky air plants, and a few with pretty flowers. Some have glossy, green foliage while others have polka dots or splashes of colour.
Among the more unusual things are Philodendron ‘Pink Princess’, whose foliage is splashed with pink, and Alocasia reginula ‘Black Velvet’ with dark, velvety leaves. Then there’s a variegated Monstera deliciosa (Swiss Cheese Plant) so much more interesting than the commonly grown green variety.
“It’s full of exciting plants,” says owner Charlotte Durrant, with a smile, adding: “They’re all easy to look after but really different.”
Charlotte, who grew up helping parents and grandparents in their gardens, has grown houseplants for a number of years and The Aroid Attic name comes from her first purchase – a monstera, part of the aroid family – which she kept in her attic bedroom.
She’s moved on from that first purchase and the shop has an eclectic range. Often, it’s the common names that attract: who could fail to fall in love with ‘String of Turtles’, otherwise known as Peperomia prostrata, whose tiny trailing leaves do indeed look like turtle shells.
A table full of Biophytum sensitivum resembles a miniature palm tree grove, albeit one that curls up if you stroke the leaves.
There’s a wide range of begonias. Begonia maculata ‘Raddi’ has white spotted leaves, Begonia maculata x ‘Tamaya’ has pretty peachy pink flowers, while Begonia bowerae is also known as the Eyelash Begonia due to the delicate fringing on its leaves. Then there are the Begonia rex plants with leaves ranging from silver and purple to pink and black.
Charlotte buys in stock from Holland and Denmark – trying to source British plants proved too difficult – and propagates a lot at home. When I visit, stems are rooting in a glass on the shop counter.
Opening a shop is an unusual first job but 23-year-old Charlotte comes from a family of business owners – her sister and aunt have enterprises in Cheltenham. Family advice on running a business has, she says, been invaluable.
Her builder father has also helped with the practical side, turning reclaimed wood into shelving that slants backwards so water runs into a gulley and down into a sink, and setting a heating underneath the shelves so delicate leaves aren’t scorched when it comes on. Simple ideas but things that give the shop the right conditions for happy plants.
Meanwhile, the shop itself offers the perfect conditions for houseplant enthusiasts.
The Aroid Attic is on Bath Road, Cheltenham. Plants can also be bought online, contact Charlotte via Facebook, Instagram or email thearoidattic@outlook.com