Adria Sparhawk: Thicket Outdoor Living

Finding a green escape in a bustling city can be a challenge, but it’s so rewarding when that place is found.

Thicket, an urban garden space in Portland, Oregon, is the botanical haven of owner Adria Sparhawk. 

“I think it’s so important to have access to plants and accesses to little urban wild spaces. It’s good for people’s souls.”

Plants have been a part of Adria’s story since she was a child growing up on a commune with her family. Her experience in the floral industry gave her the tools to create her own business around plants, something that she hadn’t expected would become a permanent staple of her neighborhood.

“It’s turned into this nice little hidden garden in this kind of back alley.”

Adria is a proponent of native plants, commenting on how well they perform over non-native species. She tries to recommend these plants as much as possible because of their benefits to native wildlife as well.

What makes Thicket really stand out among other garden centers is their ability to have some unusual items and their own upcycled pieces from salvaged materials. 

“I feel like gardening can be really intimidating for someone who doesn’t have a background and so a lot of our handmade things are really intended to be accessible and encourage them to make their own.”

What impacts Adria the most is how the plants at Thicket make a difference in people’s lives. 

“When people come back and share their stories of how they love their garden or they love their indoor wild space and how we were able to make that happen…”

Visit Thicket on 23rd Avenue in Portland. Check out their website for more information and follow them on Instagram.

This episode was filmed by Haydn Cieri.