Business is Blooming: D.C.'s Garden District

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JOE CARMACK, owner of 14th Street's perpetually leafy plant shop, Garden District (1801 14th St. NW; 202-797-9005), always knew he had a greener thumb than most people. While his childhood buddies were at soccer practice, Carmack was working in his family's garden in San Antonio, Texas — "and I loved it," he says. As an adult, Carmack earned a graduate certificate in landscape design from George Washington University and then in 2002 started a business based on his passion for plants. In March, almost five years after the debut of the first Garden District, he opened a second shop (1520 14th St. NW; 202-797-9005) a few blocks south, this one solely dedicated to interior plants and accessories.

We quizzed Carmack, 42, about his company's growth spurt and picked up tips on everything from how to keep flora content in cramped quarters to why you should add more leaves to your indoor decor.

» EXPRESS: What's the biggest mistake people make with houseplants?
» CARMACK: Not knowing the conditions that the plant would like, particularly for a sun garden. You really need to know how much sun a plant would like. Over-watering can be a big issue, too.

» EXPRESS: How important is it to find the right container for a plant?
» CARMACK: Very important, on two different levels. One is the care of the plant; you need to get a container that's the right size for it. And then there's the aesthetic part. There are so many different options that we have [at the Garden District], with pottery and different styles of pots. It's a great way to introduce color.

» EXPRESS: How can someone find the right size and shape of a pot?
» CARMACK: First of all, you don't necessarily have to replant the pot in a container. You can just drop the pot that the plant comes in inside a [larger cache pot]. Then you don't have to worry about water leaking and draining all over the place. The harder way is to get a pot with drainage and to make sure when you're replanting [your plant] that the size of the pot is at least an inch to an inch and a half bigger than the pot size that it's already in.

I don't repot anything. At my house, to tell you the truth, my plants stay in the same pots [they came in], and they're happy. I just drop them in containers and I put a little moss [around the edges of the pots] to hide the [inner] containers, and it's just perfect. My plants love it.

» EXPRESS: What's a good first indoor plant for a novice?
» CARMACK: The spathiphyllum — the peace lily. It's a good plant that doesn't take a lot of care. It requires low light. The neat thing about it is that, if it dries out, it'll come back to life within about an hour after you water it. It's just amazing to see [laughs]. Like it never happened, you know?

» EXPRESS: So, you get a second chance!
» CARMACK: You get a second chance with the spathiphyllum, definitely. You can think that it's not going to live, and it comes back just perfect.

» EXPRESS: How can plants enhance a condo's atmosphere?
» CARMACK: They definitely [help] you grow fresh air. It filters the air. I think it makes the room more comfortable and more soothing. It breaks up the harder lines and provides something that's a little bit more organic-shaped. And there are so many different styles of plants to fit your needs, with different heights and different widths.

» EXPRESS: What should people know about gardening on the balcony or patio?
» CARMACK: That's a great question, because a lot of the interior plants are exterior
plants somewhere in the world. We use our balconies when the weather's nice, so it's a great time to bring out the plants and give them some fresh air and let them breathe — but only as long as they meet the same conditions as [indoors].

It's all about the light. And you should definitely know that your plants are going to dry out a lot faster outside, so your watering conditions are going to change completely.

» EXPRESS: Speaking of watering, I'm always concerned about over-watering or under-watering plants. How do I know whether I'm about to kill my fern?
» CARMACK: The tell-tale sign is definitely yellow leaves. The leaves start turning a really noticeable yellow. You don't want that. You really want your plants to be able to drain. I like watering my plants once a week, and that's it.

» EXPRESS: Watering seems like something that varies by plant, too. Can people seek watering counseling at Garden District?
» CARMACK: Absolutely. We try to give them as much information as possible on the plants so that they will be successful in caring for them. That's really important, because we want you to be happy. And if you're not happy, then it doesn't work out for anybody.

» EXPRESS: You're originally from San Antonio. Is that where you got your start in gardening?
» CARMACK: Absolutely. My mother, my aunt and my grandmother were all sensational gardeners, and they all had their own style. It's just something that I did all my life.

» EXPRESS: Any other advice for people about gardening in general?
» CARMACK: People should just know what conditions their plant will survive and thrive in. That's the most important thing: knowledge. It's about the right plants in the right place.

Photos by Abby Greenawalt