Plants, PLINGO and a Whole Lot of Downtown: Inside Props & Pots
Jordan Belton and Leo Buyer run a houseplant boutique on South State Street and take its workshops, game nights and community work into venues across Marion.
Jordan Belton and Leo Buyer own Props & Pots, a family-owned houseplant boutique at 132 S. State St. The shop sells rare houseplants, planters and plant-care supplies. It also runs a crowded calendar of workshops, game nights, pop-up shops and community projects, many of which happen somewhere other than the shop itself.
A shop built for plant parents
The business started in 2019 and spent several years at 634 Tyler St. before moving downtown in August 2026.
The owners have stated their goal plainly. The company's website says they believe "everyone can be a successful plant parent" and want to build a supportive community where plant owners learn from one another.
That goal takes real work for a specialty shop. A houseplant comes with a list of questions about light, watering, repotting and pests, and beginners often find those questions intimidating. The shop also needs reasons for customers to come back after their first plant, and ways to reach people who might never walk into a plant store on their own. Props & Pots has built its services and events around those challenges.
Help that starts after the sale
Inside the shop, the help continues after the sale. Every plant is quarantined before it reaches the sales floor, according to the company. Customers can bring plants in for repotting, ask where a plant should sit in their home or get help identifying and treating pests such as thrips.
The inventory ranges from Alocasias, Calatheas and African violets to low-light varieties, along with planters and custom plant-and-pot combinations.
Classes that begin with doing
The workshops lean toward doing over listening.
Bugs for Breakfast paired brunch with a class on carnivorous plants. Participants learned how Venus flytraps, pitcher plants and sundews capture their prey and how to care for them at home. Each ticket included brunch, soil and a carnivorous plant to take home.
Mommy & Mini classes have invited adults and children to decorate cacti, make matching bracelets and build Halloween Boo Buckets. The event listings specifically welcomed people without previous experience.
Boards & Blooms combined painting with floral arranging. Pot painting, plant swaps, pruning demonstrations, repotting sessions and succulent terrariums have filled out the schedule. A free flameworking demonstration also brought glass artists into the shop to turn glass rods into finished pieces.
PLINGO hits the road
Then there are the events that leave State Street entirely.
At Blend of Seven Winery on West Center Street, Plants & Pinot PLINGO features 10 rounds of play, with 10-inch houseplants awarded throughout the evening. Players settle in with a glass of wine and a game card and compete for a prize that will need watering by the weekend. A separate charity round supports a local nonprofit.
The game travels.
Passenger & Rail Co., located within Bucci's Italian Scratch Kitchen, has hosted themed PLINGO nights, fundraisers and pop-up shops. Themes have ranged from Valentine's Day to Barbie.
The Brickyard on Main has hosted Props & Pots After Hours, an evening featuring drinks, conversation, creative activities and informal rounds of bingo.
Past the city limits
The business also reaches well beyond downtown Marion. Live auctions on Whatnot feature rare plants, propagation drops and specialty finds, with plant-care advice offered during the streams. The company also advertises nationwide shipping, qualifying local delivery and an online plant-identification tool.
PLINGO with a purpose
A share of the work has little to do with selling plants.
Charity rounds at Plants & Pinot support local nonprofits. Other events have collected supplies for the Friends of the Marion County Ohio Dog Shelter Pet Pantry and raised money for Friends of Marion County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
Props & Pots has also helped organize PLINGO fundraisers supporting the Marion Area Humane Society and Marion County Dog Pound.
Every Friday, the business works with Luke 3:11 Ministries to distribute free produce, one bag per adult while supplies last, with vegetables connected to the Marion Correctional Institution garden.
Props & Pots also helps maintain the Dan Stewart Edible Forest and Community Garden, a public food resource on Marion's west side.
What it adds up to
The results show up in the company's figures. Props & Pots reports serving more than 500 plant parents and hosting more than 50 workshops. It has also received the Marion Ambassador Award for its community involvement and business work.
For downtown Marion, the activity reaches well past one storefront. Props & Pots events bring guests into Blend of Seven, Bucci's (home of Passenger & Rail Co.) and The Brickyard on Main, pairing plant programming with food, wine and cocktails at neighboring businesses.
The produce giveaway, nonprofit fundraisers and online auctions carry the company's reach in other directions. Wherever people first meet Props & Pots, whether at a class, a game night, a community garden or a visit to State Street, they find a place to meet neighbors, learn a practical skill and take part in something local.
Props & Pots is located at 132 S. State St. Upcoming workshops and events are announced through its ticket page and social media.
