Is it cliché to start a column with “It’s the story of…”? Because I really want to start this one by writing: “This is the story of two very good ideas born thanks to Montreal and its people. »
Yet the people who have implemented them come from elsewhere. Alexandre Morin, a 29-year-old architect by training, grew up in Saint-Georges, in Beauce. Barrett Hedges, a 34-year-old urban planner, is originally from Oklahoma. Both cherish the metropolis today, which they consider their home.
“There are plenty of places where it’s nice to live in Montreal,” summarizes Alexandre Morin. If you are tired of your daily life, you change neighborhoods and your lifestyle changes! There is a creative freedom here that few cities have… Moreover, we consider that our projects were born while walking in the streets of Montreal. »
When the pandemic led to a proliferation of terraces, Barrett Hedges quickly noticed that they often ended up in poor condition. “Because of my training, I tend to be quite critical of urban planning… And terraces are a private part of the public environment. I was disappointed that several were filled with dead plants. It was heartbreaking! »
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Alexandre Morin, an architect by training, and Barrett Hedges, an urban planner, founded Le peacock, jardinage en pots, in 2022.
In May 2022, Barrett and Alexandre founded Le peacock, jardinage en pots. Since then, they have offered a turnkey service for the installation of outdoor plants for the terraces of restaurants, bars and other businesses. They do everything: design, installation, maintenance, dismantling and even watering. Last summer, it was Barrett who took care of the thing by dragging 200 lbs of water on a cargo bike from the Old Port to Villeray via Outremont and the Village.
Allow me a parenthesis. Like you, I wondered: why “peacock” and not peacock? Because Barrett, an English-speaking American, has often been referred to by this nickname as a proud and assertive man. Also because it is a direct reference to Dolly Parton, who allegedly said: ” A peacock that sits on his feathers is just another turkey (Free translation: A peacock that sits on its feathers is just another turkey.)
In short: “Why be a turkey when you can be a fabulous peacock ? Barrett asked me, in his impressive French punctuated with a few English words that come to him more quickly.
Let’s get back to the terraces now: the layout proposed by the duo is specific to each establishment and stems from its identity, explained Alexandre Morin to me.
When you eat inside a restaurant, you pay for the full experience, which includes the ambiance. On the other hand, the experience is often less there on the outside. The concept of the restaurant does not feel on the terrace and we try to take it there.
Alexandre Morin
Last summer, the contractors took care of 32 terraces. This year, they will oversee more than forty, but this time they will be entitled to a team and… a plant club.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
The enthusiasm created was such that the duo has just launched Le peacock, plant club and opened a boutique in due form.
Initially, the duo’s plan was to sell the plants used on the terraces to the general public at the end of each summer season. This is because he does not use any annual plants, unlike many gardeners. On the one hand, because he wonders about the relevance of growing a plant that will only live a few months and, on the other hand, because we do not understand the lifespan of many plants…
“Many plants that are thought to be annuals aren’t,” Barrett told me. They are just a little more difficult to maintain in winter or less flamboyant, like geraniums, coleus, begonias or fuchsias. »
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
The entrepreneurs found premises on Parc Avenue last October.
The entrepreneurs therefore found premises on Park Avenue last October and settled there for a month with some 3,000 plants ready to spend the winter in a house. All have found takers.
“We have no experience in sales, but we met so many people who love plants that it made us want to open a club, explained to me Alexandre Morin. We wanted to create an environment for all those who have this point in common, a place to continue to have this contact with the people of the neighborhood. »
Thus was born The peacock: club of plants.
I visited the store two weeks before it opened, at the end of April. She was already beautiful. Since the beginning of May, they have been selling plant containers for balconies, pots, plants of all kinds, natural fertilizers and pesticides, potting soil and books. There will also soon be diagnostics for diseased plants, workshops and an outdoor space for socializing. Then, in the fall, the plants used on the terraces of businesses during the summer will be sold there at a discount.
If they are sometimes a little more demanding, the duo is sure that several will know how to take care of them perfectly: “There are so many people who know how to take care of their plants, since the pandemic! sums up Alexandre Morin.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Plants, a passion for many!
How is it, then?
Barrett tells me that he read an article published in an American media, about millennials and their passion for indoor plants. Among the theories cited: 1) we have children later, but we still want to have some responsibility; 2) plants make great photos to post on Instagram…
But for me, as for many, it is deeper. It’s caring for something and really caring about it. I want my plants to grow and look good.
Barrett Hedges
I can’t wait to see what community he will now manage to grow around this passion…
(A column that began with “This is the story of…” could only end with a pun. I apologize, but I had to be consistent with my choices.)