There’s no denying that houseplants are enjoying their moment right now.
While it’s true that they cannot even remotely be considered a new phenomenon, with early historical records appearing to suggest that ornamental and fruiting plants were potted indoors by those as early as the Ancient Egyptians, Ancient Greeks, Sumerians, Romans and even in ancient China, the popularity of houseplants has been on a sharp rise over the past few years.
If that rise wasn’t sharp enough as it is though, along came lockdown.
As the country was placed under COVID-safe restrictions, and the public told to “stay at home” for the foreseeable, the upward trajectory of houseplant popularity grew astronomically, with dedicated retailers all across the country reporting a significant surge in sales over the last 11 months.
So, what is to account for such rise then? Well, it’s simple. For those stuck at home, which has been the vast majority of us at one point or another, houseplants have seemingly offered a way of brining the outside in, a way of injecting greenery into our homes, and not to mention, they have provided the perfect pastime and place to focus our attentions.
A prominent link between the keeping and tending to of houseplants, and positive benefits for our mental health, has also been identified.
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And it’s the latter concept that has particularly resonated with one Manchester-based student.
Sam Garrington – a third year Environmental Science student at Manchester Metropolitan University – shares in the nation’s burgeoning love for houseplants to such an extent that he decided to start his very own “side hustle” selling them.
Alongside his studies, Sam founded the independent online houseplant nursery RootsNShoots from his Withington home last summer, and has been supplying homegrown, hand-potted and organic houseplants at affordable prices ever since.
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His main aim was to provide people with “beautiful plants that will aid the aesthetic of any room”, but this start-up is about so much more than just selling plants.
“I want to improve mental health, without breaking the bank.” Sam told The Manc.
“We operate with small batches of plants that are rooted from cuttings and then potted, and customers receive plants in the adolescent stage of growth, which provides the benefit of being able to watch your very own plant baby grow up.”
He continued: “Since starting at university, I’ve wanted to run my own business on the side of studying, but kept putting it off and never took the plunge [and] to be honest, even though I’ve always loved house plants and have loads of my own, I never really planned this and kind of just fell into it instead”.
“It all started back in the summer of 2020 when I was gifted 20 spider plant babies.
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“I rooted and potted them up, and then couldn’t decide what to do with them all, so I just posted about them on the main student Facebook page [Manchester Students’ Group], only expecting a couple of interested people to message me, but to my surprise, all 20 had been taken within half an hour and I even had people offering to pay for them once I’d told them that I’d already promised them to other people.
“This was the birth of RootsNShoots”.
Unsplash / Leonardo Iheme
And what a journey it’s been in such a short space of time.
Sam continued: “From there, I started potting up all the cuttings I could get my hands on and kept posting on Facebook until it got to the point where I needed to solidify my progress and start a properly-branded business.
“All my stock remains homegrown and hand-potted in small batches of whatever is available to me, but now I’ve invested in grow lights and shelving, as well as branded paper bags.
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“I’ve even had people who went home to their parents for lockdown ask me to send them plants via the post.”
While the chance to spread his love for houseplants and their benefits among the student population, and eventually as far and wide as possible, is what’s at the heart of RootsNShoots, Sam is also keen to demonstrate and help fly the flag for young people with entrepreneurial spirit too.
“I really endorse the sense of community within the student population,” Sam continued.
“I believe we are stronger as a unit and I’m sick of the stereotypical view that ‘students do nothing but study and party’, when in fact, many of us pursue creative and entrepreneurial avenues to prove we are much more than just students”.
With the popularity of RootsNShoots continuing to develop by the day though, where does Sam see his “side hustle” heading in the future?
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“In all honesty, I’m just taking things gradually and seeing where it ends up.” he admitted.
“I don’t particularly see this as a job and much more as a hobby.
“I love plants and want other students to discover the beauty of foliage, so at the moment, I see this as a way to get some extra money to supplement my loan and to help pay for my own plant addiction”.
He continued: “It’s hard to say where I see it going in the future as it’s so dependent on where I end up after graduating, but I’m eventually planning on launching an online store and doing postal deliveries, which means I can target a much larger customer base than just the students of Fallowfield.
“I’ve also recently started offering terracotta pots that are designed and hand-painted by my housemate who studies Fine Art at MMU too, which have turned out to be very popular and work well with the vibe I’m trying to convey.
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“Regardless of what happens after I graduate though, I’ll always find a way to spread my love of houseplants”.
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You can find more information about RootsNShoots, as well as view the plants in stock and place your orders via the company’s Instagram account here.
Feature
Giuseppe’s – the tiny Italian bistro that proves Stalybridge is fast becoming a dining destination
Daisy Jackson
Giuseppe’s in Stalybridge is a restaurant that’s putting in an enormous amount of effort to please just a very small group of people – this teeny tiny bistro has just 18 seats.
With such a small capacity no one would blame them for sitting back and scaling back to a concise little menu of pizza – but Giuseppe’s really said ‘no grazie’ to such an idea and committed itself to a full bistro menu.
It’s yet another exciting addition to the rapidly-booming restaurant scene here in Tameside, where neighbours include Cafe Continental, Gladstone Barber & Bistro, and SK15 Bar & Bistro.
Giuseppe’s arrival on the Stalybridge high street has created a cosy corner for locals, one which could quickly follow in the footsteps of Ornella’s to become a fully-booked-for-months-in-advance destination.
Inside its welcoming navy blue walls you’re welcomed by a room filled with trailing plants, ceramic lemons and a huge doodle map of Sicily.
The menu also hails from Sicily, specialising in wood-fired pizzas but also dipping a toe into pasta and small plates too.
Pizza at Giuseppe’s Italian bistro in StalybridgeA spread of dishes at Pizza at Giuseppe’s Italian bistro in Stalybridge
Giuseppe’s pizza dough is meticulously made fresh with Italian 00 flour, left to ferment for at least 48 hours, before being stretched and topped and cooked in the wood-fired pizza oven until it’s all puffed-up and charred around the edges.
At lunch times, those delicious pizza doughs are folded in half to make Italian panozzi sandwiches, the charred dough encasing fillings like Sicilian fennel sausage and friarelli, and mortadella with stracciatella.
These are strong contenders for the best pizzas this side of Greater Manchester, with a soft and chewy crust that stands up against much bigger names in the pizza game.
Rum baba at Giuseppe’sThe team at Giuseppe’s in Stalybridge
Giuseppe’s pasta bowls include a hearty paccheri with Sicilian sausage AND guanciale, all salty and rich and creamy.
And once you’ve eaten your fill in this tiny little spot, where the windows go all steamed up in winter and you’re nudging up against neighbours chatting over pizzas, you can polish off with Italian desserts too.
There’s a very respectable slab of tiramisu on offer, plus a rum baba soaked in syrup and packed with fresh cream.
Giuseppe’s in Stalybridge may be small in capacity but it’s huge on spirit.
Kinky Boots’ message transcends the music at the Palace Theatre in Manchester | Review
Oli Lowe
Kinky Boots strutted into Manchester last night (bet I’m the only reviewer witty enough to come up with an opening line that original) and in doing so encapsulated an audience with its inspiring message.
I want to preface this review by stating that up until last night, I knew next to nothing about Kinky Boots.
Admittedly, even as a born and raised theatre kid, there will always be the odd musical that manages to slip through the cracks and elude me, much like a cinephile who’s never seen Jaws and, shamefully, Kinky Boots is my Jaws. Until now.
This actually gave me a huge sense of excitement going into the press night for the all-new production of Kinky Boots.
It’s very rare that I review a show that I’m not comparing to some form of source material, a different production that I’d already seen, the movie adaptation, the original cast recording, etc.
So, to sit down last night at 7:29 absolutely clueless about what was set to unfold in front of me, was a genuine breath of fresh air.
Kinky Boots is set between the towns of Northampton, London and climatically, Milan. The story follows two lead characters Charlie Price, a Northampton boy who begins the show having just inherited his late father’s shoe manufacturing business.
It’s a fate he’s been trying to run from since his childhood and Lola/Simon, a fierce and powerful drag queen who uses their dress sense and divaesque attitude as a shield from the outside world that wishes to, ironically, drag her down
The two collide when Charlie is inspired to save his late father’s failing business by exchanging the manufacturing of boring brogues for fabulous ‘kinky boots’ that can be fabulous, whilst fully supporting the weight of any drag queen.
His energy has dropped one iota from rehearsals to the tour. (Credit: Press Images)
Johannes Radebe – best known for being one of the professionals on Strictly Come Dancing – was nothing short of absolutely breathtaking as Lola.
I’ll be honest, celebrity castings generally put me off shows more than attract me to them; in some cases, they can feel like desperate pleas to get bums in seats (which given the current state of arts within the UK, production companies can hardly be blamed for).
However, Johannes genuinely seems born to play this role. I was expecting his dancing to be well… professional but I was intrigued to see how his vocals and acting would compare and boy, oh boy, did they compare. He didn’t miss a beat.
His acting was fierce and powerful, just as his character demanded whilst also showing real vulnerability and humility. In terms of individual performances, it’s one of the best I’ve seen at Manchester’s Palace Theatre for a long while.
The supporting cast was just as fabulous, with special shoutouts to Courtney Bowman who played the adorably loveable Lauren, whilst delivering serious powerhouse vocals and to Scott Paige who played George.
You could see through Scott’s performance a real sense of pride and shared experience with the story plus his comedic timing was absolutely impeccable, I hope to see more of him in the future.
Kinky Boots boasts a strong supporting cast all-round (Credit: Supplied via Palace Theatre Manchester).
With a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by the legendary Cyndi Lauper, I must admit it’s Harvey who carries the weight in this production.
Whilst catchy enough to tap your feet to, I didn’t leave the theatre with so much as an earworm from Cyndi’s musical offering, however, the heart and passion of the story is something I think everyone should look to experience.
Kinky Boots is about accepting people for who they are instead of seeking to change them and this show does a fantastic job of encapsulating that message, not only from the standpoint of the LGBTQ+ community but for everyone.
The show implores people to accept everyone from the fiercest drag queen to the most bullish, typical ‘blokes’ out there and the way each of those groups manages to come together by the end of the production is a testament to what can happen if we all embrace each other with open arms.
Kinky Boots is only in Manchester until Saturday (8 February), so please, get tickets if you can and go and see this fabulous show. You can grab yours HERE. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get to see a living legend in the flesh like we did…
Emily Sergeant -
24th February 2021 
