Philly mom opens plant boutique Foliage to promote clean air in Philly

PHILADELPHIA -- "Where I grew up, there were not a lot of plants outside," said Yolanda Palmer. "Some people had them, some people didn't."

Palmer, who is from Southwest Philadelphia, discovered a passion for plants at the age of 10. She developed a green thumb as she grew up, learning more about nature each and every day.

"As I got a little older, you could walk through my neighborhood and one block would be filled with flowers and things in the yard," she said, "Whereas you can go to another block and there would be none."

Since then, Palmer had a desire to share her love of plants with the community. But the dream remained just a seed while she worked a typical day job.

"I worked in the accounting department with a nonprofit organization," she said. "I was sitting there and I was like, I have to do something else."

Palmer then planted the seed. She started off small, selling at a local flea market in Southwest Philadelphia and then popping up at shows and festivals in Chestnut Hill.

By December 2021, her storefront on Germantown Avenue, "Foliage," had sprouted. There, she sells common plants, rare plants, small plants, and large plants.

"The goal is to sell them to homeowners to beautify their home and also to purify the air," she said.

Palmer is right at home in Chestnut Hill, a central gardening hub in the city. But she hopes her message will branch out to reach other communities in the Philadelphia area.

"Everyone should buy house plants. Everyone should want cleaner air," she said. "And that way, in the future when our children grow up, we can make it better."

Palmer plans on continuing to work hard to support not only her store, but her twin boys, four dogs, one cat and 128 plants at home.