Bring the Plant Club to Your Neighborhood

Your Driveway. Your Neighbors. Their New Favorite Plant Source.

When we text members, they say things like “I feel like it’s Christmas morning – I'm so excited to get my plants.  I’ll be there in 15 minutes.”  Being a part of that enthusiasm is infectious.

Ever wish your whole neighborhood could garden like the pros?

Us, too. That's why the Plant Club exists: several times a month in spring and summer, we pool our members’ plant orders together and buy straight from the same wholesale growers the landscape pros use. Then we bring the plants to a pickup site near you. Members pay closer to wholesale instead of the 100%+ markup that's typical at retail.

The catch? It only works where there's a pickup site!  Right now we have about 20 of them across Chicagoland, most of them someone's driveway. We'd like a lot more.

So if you've got a driveway, some gardening friends, and a soft spot for a good deal, we'd love to make you the next one.

Host a pickup site in your driveway (or your garden club's), and your friends and neighbors get pro-quality plants at near-wholesale prices, delivered to you free, a few steps from home. You earn up to 10% of everything they order, plus get free delivery and an additional 10% off anything for you.

Who makes a great host

You don't need a green thumb, a big yard, or any business experience (though all of these are good things). Our best hosts are people who like being around plants and getting to know their neighbors. That might be:

• A gardener with gardening friends. If you're the one that neighbors text about their hydrangeas, you're going to love this. If you even just have gardening friends and neighbors, you're already well over halfway there!

• A garden club. Hosting a site gives members a steady plant source at great prices and a modest but steady stream of money for the club treasury without the hassle of a special fundraiser.

• An HOA, block captain or community garden. One site can host an entire subdivision or neighborhood.

• A school PTO, church, or scout troop. The 10% works nicely as a low-effort fundraiser that runs all season. And we're delighted to help not-for-profit community entities like this buy tax-exempt for their internal projects.

The only hard requirement is that you live (or operate) somewhere in the Chicago suburbs we don't yet serve well. Check the current pickup locations; if your nearest site is a 10-minute drive or more, you're exactly who we're looking for.

How it works

• Raise your hand. Email us at helpusgrow@northshoreplantclub.com with your address, a sentence about your group, and where you'd put the plants. We'll set up a quick call.

• We add your site to the map. Your location shows up on our pickup locations page with a cross-street description (never your exact address). Members near you can now choose your site at checkout.

• Tell your people. Share the Plant Club with your friends, neighbors or club; we'll give you a ready-made email, a flyer and a few social posts, so you only have to be yourself. Membership is free, so there's no awkward ask. 

• They shop, we buy. We work together to choose a delivery schedule for your pickup location based on your interest and number of members. Your members browse the website and order whatever they want. We combine every order in the area and buy from the growers.

• We deliver to you, free. A few days later our truck drops the plants at your site, each order labeled by customer, so all you have to do is sort the plants for each person by their order. 

• Neighbors swing by. You text each member when their plants are ready to be picked up. They stop by during the window you've set. Most people are in and out in a few minutes, but getting to know your neighbors is part of the fun.

• You get paid. At the end of each ordering cycle, we tally everything picked up at your site and send you your share. Easy.

• You’re never alone — with quick communication from fellow Club leaders and key Club leadership, there is plenty of support, tips and good cheer between all of the people behind the club.

 

What's in it for you

Up to 10% of everything sold through your site. A neighborhood that orders $10,000 of plants over a season (that's a dozen households doing a modest spring refresh, or a couple of serious native-garden projects) puts up to $1,000 in your pocket or your club's treasury. For a garden club, that's a year of speakers. For a PTO, it's a fundraiser that doesn't involve selling anything door to door.

An even better deal for your own garden. Hosts are members too. You get first crack at the truck, the same near-wholesale prices, and zero delivery fee on anything you order for yourself. We'll give you an additional 10% off on the plants you buy for yourself as you make your yard awesome.  In addition to these great cost savings, you get to see everything that's new in the plant world, and we'll connect you with the other cool people who have pickup sites near you and have made the Plant Club such a fun community!

Free delivery for your whole group. Home delivery normally costs $20. At a pickup site it's free for everyone, which makes it easy to say yes when a neighbor asks "should I order too?"

Plants nobody else can get. More sizes, more varieties, and real quantities of plants retail nurseries don't stock: 100+ Illinois natives, flats of groundcover, 50 kinds of hydrangea.  Our sources are the same nurseries that the region’s top designers, horticulturalists and landscapers buy from. Your neighbors will wonder how you did it.

A better block. Pickup afternoons turn into the kind of thing people look forward to: a short chat at the end of the driveway, a plant trade, a tip about what's working in the shade bed. Several of our hosts say it's the most they've talked to their neighbors in years. It can be a fun experience.

   

What we ask of you

Not much, honestly. The whole model depends on hosting being easy, so we've kept the list short.

• A healthy spot for plants. A driveway, side yard, garage apron or parking lot where our truck can pull up and a few dozen pots or more can safely sit until your neighbors come. Shade and protection from any critters you have. Most of the plants we offer are trays through 5-gallon pot-sized shrubs, so no special equipment is needed.

• Group the plants that arrive so it's easy for your neighbors to pick up, and let them know their plants are waiting for them.

• A little hose time. When it's hot out, you'll want to give the plants a drink so they stay looking fresh. That's the entire care manual.

• Spread the word. The more people who know, the more plants roll through, and the more money you earn and people you'll connect with. We'll hand you everything you need to share.

• Be a friendly face. Occasionally someone can't find their order or has a question. A quick email to us sorts it out. You're the neighbor, not customer service.

What you don't have to do: handle money, process orders, or commit to a term. If it stops working for you, say the word and we'll move the site.

Questions people ask

Does it cost anything to host? No. There's no fee, no inventory to buy, and no equipment. Membership is free for everyone.

How is the 10% calculated? It's a share of the purchases by people who you introduce to the Plant Club and those who pick up at your site. We handle the plant details, ordering/ payments on the website and logistics; you just get a Zelle from us.

Do I have to be home for pickup? You'll get more relationships and more money if you connect with the people picking up their plants, but your driveway can do the work when you step out. 

What if someone doesn't pick up? Occasionally a plant sits an extra day; a little water keeps it happy. Let us know if the member has forgotten to come. 

Can a garden club or nonprofit host? Yes, and it's one of our favorite setups. The payout goes to the organization. You'll need one point person we can communicate with.

How far will you deliver? We currently serve the North Shore; northwest suburbs out to Barrington and Lake Villa; and southwest to Naperville. If you're a bit beyond that, ask anyway; a strong group can justify a new route.

How many people do I need? A site starts to feel worthwhile at around 25 active households, and most grow from there once neighbors see the plants showing up. If you're right next-door to somewhere we already go, we can start with just a dozen enthusiastic gardeners. As you add garden friends, we'll work together to add more delivery dates.

Can I stop?  Anytime. No contract, no hard feelings.  But you might not want to...

Ready to be the plant person on your block?

Email helpusgrow@northshoreplantclub.com and tell us:

• Your town and nearest cross streets

• Who you'd be hosting for (neighbors, a garden club, an HOA, a PTO…)

• Roughly how many households you think would order

We'll get back to you within a couple of days, and we can usually have a new site live before the next ordering window. 

Not ready to host but know someone who'd be perfect? Forward this page. We'll thank you with a Plant Club gift certificate when their first plant gets delivered.