Editor’s note: This article was published in Grand Traverse Scene magazine’s Summer II 2026 issue. Pick up a free copy at area hotels, visitor’s centers, chambers of commerce or at the Record-Eagle building at 1764 Forest Ridge Drive in Traverse City. Click here to read GT Scene in its entirety online.
Looking for a tropical touch for your northern Michigan home or vacation?
Check out Darling Botanical Co., housed in the Warehouse MRKT off of Hall St. in downtown Traverse City. Owned by Megan Kellogg, the shop has been bringing an alternative approach to flora to town for the past 15 years (and counting!)
With a fresh flower cooler, a card collection, fun and unique trinkets, and even an option to purchase interior tropical plants or build your own terrarium, the shop is unique in more ways than one.
“There is a bit of this and that, sometimes seemingly random but the intention is to spark imagination and curiosity. I change it up to keep my locals and regulars engaged, some things I will only have once or sometimes I will bring back a line from 5 years ago because a new generation has caught on,” Kellogg said. “I have watched kids grow up here, talk about how big their plants have become and brought in their own kiddos to make things and pick out a plant they can grow up with. I feel like I lucked out because people that like plants tend to be good humans. The desire to observe and care for something outside of yourself is a wonderful quality and that person is my customer.”
Having been interested in plants since she was a child, and learning more through opportunities like a summer job at Plant Masters in Suttons Bay as a teenager, it was intuitive for her to continue pursuing a career surrounding exotic annuals and tropicals as an adult.
“My brain was a sponge for it all, and being surrounded by that kind of beauty on a daily basis had a wonderful impact on me. In a round about way I was picked up by an interior plant maintenance company called “The Plant Lady” where I worked for years around town tending to plants in private and commercial spaces learning the craft of interiorscaping,” she recalled.
When first opening the shop in June 2011, she had a bit of trouble figuring out whether it was an idea worth committing to.
“I went back and forth wrestling with the idea that tropical plants were a waste of freshwater and resource in northern Michigan, but as time went on and attempts to pursue other passions became complicated, I reconciled the dilemma with the observation that caring for these plants was a gift, and an enhancement for a better quality of life and environment,” she described.
She worked in both private residential and commercial properties, and the original warehouse district location was Kellogg’s opportunity to offer her friends and community the same chance to purchase and interact with interesting plants as she’d been giving her clients.
Three years later, the shop grew quickly by demand of the community, and Dan and Meredith Falconer brought her into the Warehouse MRKT building, which has seen business grow, move on, and retire over the past decade plus. Now, Kellogg notes, it’s her turn.
In September, Darling Botanical Co. will transition to the Tru Fit Trouser complex on Woodmere.
“I will miss my beautiful space and the neighborhood, but it’s time for the building to embrace its new era as the “Warehouse District” develops,” she explained, noting that customers’ first question is often whether she’ll take the tree with her. “Yes, the cottonwood will come with and the store in essence will be the same, some things will go and I will adapt to the life and ways of the new neighborhood. I love Traverse City and the community I have grown with. We have a wonderful spectrum of talent and hard working people that support small businesses like mine.”
https://www.darlingbotanical.com/