By Chase Holmes
Photos by Kathleen Ivy
Winter is just an excuse for the plants of the world to hide away from the determined gardener for a while. When the cold breaks and it is time for nature to be renewed, the people of Trussville count on Wildgoose Garden + Pottery at the Amari Curb Market to have everything they need for a beautiful garden. Mother-daughter duo Sonia Spivey and Lauren Scott have been bringing the bloom to Trussville since 2021.
Located right off U.S. Highway 11in downtown Trussville, Wildgoose’s shaded, dark-sided building provides the perfect backdrop for all the vibrant colors of life to draw the eager gardener in. During the spring and summer months, various plants sit on metal racks, wooden platforms, picnic tables or voluminous pots around the building, ready and waiting for someone to take them home.
Before they reach their new owners, the plants are kept under the watchful and caring eye of the Wildgoose team. Spivey, known affectionately by her family and the community as “Soni,” has been gardening for the entirety of her daughter’s life. Scott said their yard in South Carolina always looked picture-perfect.
“My mom was always an amazing gardener. Our yard looked like it could have been in Southern Living,” she said, recalling childhood memories of bounding through the carefully cultivated greenery of their old home.
Eventually, the pair decided to bring their talents to the Trussville community by opening their own shop. The perfect name followed them from their home state. Scott’s grandparents owned a farm called The Wildgoose. The legacy of that place in their family history made the decision to carry on the name an easy one. Before the farm, Scott’s great-grandparents ran a floral shop. Tending to plants runs deep in the family tree, interweaving itself throughout the generations like crawling ivy.
With Spivey’s and Scott’s hands at the generational wheel, they decided to add a few new components to the family repertoire with Wildgoose.
Before their storefront opened, Scott began learning how to shape pottery in 2020. Since then, the craft has become woven into the fabric of her life and the identity of what makes Wildgoose special. Together with her friend, Josh Miller, they host a number of pottery classes in their workshop every week as well as seasonal classes throughout the summer.
Wildgoose even provides space for interested customers to come in and paint their own pottery during business hours. Their Paint-Your-Own Pottery system means that any group of one-to-six painters can walk in without a reservation, paint their pottery inside the store and receive the finished piece within 10 days. Parties greater than six are not left out and can call ahead to reserve a table.
The painting process generally takes around 45 minutes; although, they do recommend setting aside some extra time for larger pieces. All ages are welcome, and they encourage parents to bring their children. A particular favorite they have seen are parents imprinting their children’s hands and feet on the pottery, capturing a brief moment of a child’s life.
This interesting marriage of gardening and pottery means that a customer could enter Wildgoose, pick out their plant, learn how to let their new green friend flourish and then create the pot it will grow in.
Scott said that for her, pottery is a way to lose herself in the art of shaping a piece, and she loves bringing that to the community in addition to their expertise and support for local gardeners.
To make sure the plants they sell can thrive, the duo is always willing to offer their advice. For anyone who thinks they are forever cursed to watch their plants die over and over, Spivey said it is all about being patient and spending some time on proper research for their individual plant’s needs.
“Some people say they just don’t have a green thumb, but really they do,” she said. “They just need to give their plants a second chance,” she said.
Some may expect there to be some grand secret for keeping plants alive, but Spivey said it’s really all about the basics.
“Always be aware of light and water requirements. When it comes down to it, that’s what really matters,” she said.
In many households and dorm rooms across the United States, you might find a succulent somewhere minding its own business. They are easy to maintain and generally happy if ignored for a little while. From there, the novice planter has a number of options for what their next indoor plant can be. Spivey and Scott recommend a Pothos plant, also called devil’s ivy. It is easy to care for, and it can bring a full and wonderful touch of green to anyone’s household as it grows and sprawls out over its pot.
They also recommend a Fittonia, also known as a nerve plant because of the way the leaves’ network of thick vessels resembles a nervous system. In some varieties, the vessels can even appear red, perfect for bringing a pop of color to a home.
For those wanting to dive into caring for harvestable plants, an herb garden is a great starting point for the budding home gardener, especially if there is not enough room out back for more expansive and time-consuming plants, such as tomatoes or peppers. Basil is a particular favorite for herb gardeners. Most herbs can be comfortably grown in pots or even in the home.
Spivey estimates she has more than 50 plants in her home alone. She has many different varieties, but her favorites are all perennials. Scott said she has a particular liking for bird’s nest ferns, but like her mother, she said it’s hard to pick favorites with so many plants growing out in the world.
Whether someone wants to find their own favorite plant or discover the art of pottery, Wildgoose is proud to be the place where many in the community go to do just that.
“We are just really happy to be a part of the Trussville community, and we want to just be a place where everyone can come in and find the right plant or pottery piece for them,” Scott said. “That’s what it’s all about. Bringing everyone together and just being a welcoming place for everyone.”
Wildgoose is located at 109 Glenn Ave. in Trussville. It is open Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. To keep up with upcoming pottery classes and learn more about current stock of plants, follow the business on Facebook (Wildgoose Garden) and Instagram (@wildgoosegarden), or visit wildgoosegarden.com.
