Walking into Jeka Plants in downtown Mount Vernon is like walking into a small, well-organized jungle. Created by sisters Jeanie Topness and Karen Yarber (whose names combine to create the store name), this houseplant shop is lined with shelves holding calathea, cactus, blooming jasmine, tillandsia, and more. A huge jade plant holds court in the middle of the room and a fine old staghorn fern is mounted on the wall, a specimen from Yarber’s personal collection.
Photo by Jessamyn Tuttle
Photo by Jessamyn Tuttle
JeKa’s story began in 2021. Topness, who used to own a small wholesale nursery, had had her eye on a prime spot across from the Skagit Valley Food Co-op for years, saying that if it ever became available, she was going to grab it. When the opportunity finally came, says Yarber, “she called me and said: ‘the barber shop is gone and I’m opening a plant store.’”
Both sisters have always loved gardening, so a houseplant store was a good fit.
“We are both people of the earth,” says Yarber. “We love to do projects together…this was our latest and yet biggest project.”
When they opened JeKa the sisters didn’t even know where they were going to get plants, but they were able to get their starting merchandise and fixtures from a local nursery that was going out of business. Over time they were able to build relationships with nurseries in Snohomish and Bellingham which grow most of their plants and bring others in from Florida and Hawaii.
Photo by Jessamyn Tuttle
“We hand-pick every plant for the store,” said Yarber. “It’s fun, and it allows us to get the best of the best. We can pick two or three of each type of plant so we’re able to have a really wide variety for our customers.”
Asked what her favorite plant is, Yarber says that the answer to that question changes all the time. “I like things that grow successfully in my house,” she says. “People come in and they say they can’t grow plants, but the key to growing plants is finding the right plant for your environment.”
Besides plants, the shop offers pots, gardening supplies, and plant-themed art and gifts. The sisters, who were raised in Hawaii, recently visited and brought back fabrics with botanical prints to add to their collection.
“We decided we just wanted to offer things that we personally love in the store, since we spend so much time here, so this is really a representation of us and things that we would have in our own home,” says Yarber.
They’re just starting to branch out to a few shelf-stable local food items like honey, as part of their goal to keep adding exciting new merchandise so repeat customers will always have something to discover.
Photo by Jessamyn Tuttle
Topness and Yarber are thrilled with their shop’s success.
“We’re grateful for the welcome and support we get from the community here in downtown Mount Vernon. We have really been excited to be part of sort of a rejuvenation of our local downtown area,” says Yarber. “It’s continued to get better every year and we’re very excited and very grateful for all of that.” 219 S. 1st St., Mount Vernon, 360.318.7944, jekaplants.com
