Secret Garden Boutique launched their business in 2020. They are a small specialty plant boutique located in downtown Guelph at 84 Norfolk Street. They provide uncommon and exotic tropical plants, most of which are grown or acclimated in store. They also work with a small list of carefully selected suppliers to ensure their plants are top quality and ethically sourced.
Lori Haugh, owner of Secret Garden Boutique
Lori Haugh is a houseplant hobbyist and collector. The inspiration behind the boutique shop stems directly from her lifelong love of plants. Lori’s hobby turned into her dream job finding a niche within the plant community. She wanted to share her passion and expertise with others which led to Secret Garden Boutique being nurtured and grown.
Lori has over six years’ experience caring for and growing tropical plants, specializing in Hoya. She also offers a specialized service of in person and virtual consultations for anyone needing advice or help with their plants. She has been involved in building the local plant community and co-hosted Guelph’s first ever large scale plant swap in 2018 and runs a local Facebook Group for plant lovers.
Lori originally started the Secret Garden Boutique as a home-based business while she was off work caring for and raising her daughter. During this time, she realized there was both a need and want for uncommon tropical plants. It was at this time that she knew it was time to take a chance and the doors of Secret Garden Boutique opened shortly after.
Business background
Secret Garden Boutique launched operations in 2020. Lori chose to invest in Guelph because she was raised here and considers Guelph to be her home.
When asked why it’s important to support local, Lori responded, “We love to support local. Secret Garden Boutique brings in handmade products from other local small businesses such as fertilizer, macrame and pottery and makes them readily available to the Guelph community. Supporting local is investing in your community, which is investing in yourself.”
We also asked what makes Secret Garden Boutique unique.
“Our unique plant selection is what makes us stand out from other shops,” replied Lori. “We are the only store in Guelph and surrounding area that specializes in rare exotic plants which brings in customers from all over Southwestern Ontario. Some even travel in weekly from the GTA to shop!”
The company’s future plans include continuing to grow their business and hopefully expand one day. Expansion plans include either a larger location with more offerings or expansion to multiple locations.
Visit the Secret Garden Boutique website to learn more about their great selection of exotic tropical plants. Secret Garden Boutique has the perfect plant for everyone whether you’re a beginner or collector.
Guelph Shops was launched to help businesses like Secret Garden Boutique thrive and encourage our community to support local. If your business is interested in a Guelph Shops business spotlight, please reach out directly to [email protected].
All information within has been verified by Secret Garden Boutique.