Rooted & Rollin’

Photography: Liz Harter, Big Wave Studio

With her Houseplant Hippie plant truck, Kaylynne Leggett is sowing “good vibrations, clean air and good energy.”

Self-described “houseplant fan girl” Kaylynne Leggett is on a roll. The Raleigh native and lifelong plant lover with an “innate passion for houseplants” hit the road with her Houseplant Hippie truck (like a food truck—but for plants) in March.

A dream brewed up in early 2020 over a cupajoe with a friend, Leggett—then pursuing a pro dance career in NYC—had no immediate plans to set her mobile houseplant vision into motion—but then, pandemic. Returning to her Raleigh roots last spring after the world all but stopped (including dance), she swapped her talented twinkle toes for her expert green thumb (she hails from “a multigenerational family business that’s embedded in gardening and planting”), seizing the opp to sow the seeds for Houseplant Hippie (while still pursuing dance).

Always on the go, natch, the truck’s weekly whereabouts can be tracked on the ’Gram (@thehouseplanthippie). And Leggett plans to take her show on the road soon, so be on the lookout this summer in Charlotte, beachside and beyond.

Her MO? For starters: demystifying plants. “It’s really important to me that people know that sometimes I kill plants too,” she says. “I get yellow leaves—it happens. And when people are having some of these issues themselves, they can look at that and realize, ‘I’m not failing. This is a part of the journey.’”

Further demystifying houseplants, Leggett’s mobile model allows potential plant parents to peruse their future “fronds” while viewing specific plant info (think light and water needs, toxicity to pets) on her comprehensive site via scanning a QR code—which frees her up to provide more one-on-one attention than you’d typically receive at a busy garden center. “I want everybody to have their best shot at getting the plant that’s going to fit for their space,” she says.

And the end goal? “Ultimately, I really want to give back to Black farmers,” she says. “It’s really difficult to be a Black farmer in this country—there are 13 million acres owed to Black Americans, and, since 1920, the Black farmers counted in America went from 925,708 to now 45,500. So giving back to farmers and families in the Black community who’ve had systemic discrimination and racism over the past 150 years is my top priority.”
With a home base at Haven Farm in Knightdale (owned by Leslie Logan Brown of Logan’s Garden Shop fame), Leggett hopes to add hours of operation at the farm soon—plus wine, brews and on-site yoga.

In the meantime, it’s all about the “good vibrations, clean air and good energy,” she says—“three things that are super-important—especially in a time like this.” To further reap those good vibes, while on-truck, grab some Haven Farm CBD products and constantly rotating wares from women-owned businesses (think soaps, plant hangers and more). Ultimately, says Leggett, “I just want to make your space a place where vibrations are high; your air is clean; and your energy is at a place of peace.” You grow, girl. thehouseplanthippie.com/truck

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