The Plant Lady Is In 

Veranda on the Mile Is a Breath of Fresh Flora 

Erica des Roches did not begin her career with the idea of becoming a plant vendor. She spent 15 years as a commercial real estate broker and another 15 with a European fashion accessory company in New York. But somewhere under that professional skin lurked a lover of all things green. “I’ve always wanted to do this – work with plants,” she says. “They just make people happy.” 

With an official launch in December, des Roches opened Veranda, a small, pleasant shop in the ‘breezeway’ that feeds off Miracle Mile just west of Ponce de Leon. “I looked around in different places and there wasn’t any store here [in the Gables] like this, selling plants,” she says. 

Now des Roches is on a mission, not only to make indoor plants affordable (hers start at $10) but to help them thrive. “Everyone who walks in here says ‘I kill plants.’ I say, ‘You won’t now.’” Part of her service is plant counseling; you can hire her to “plant scape” your home. Or you can just send a photo of your ailing plant to her, and she will advise you on how to save it. The No. 1 mistake? “Overwatering is the biggest,” says the Netherlands native. Her next green gambit: teaching classes on how to create terrariums. Veranda, 224 Miracle Mile 305.970.1808