Shops / plants
Bristol’s rarest and most unusual plant shop
You can pop into Oak & Reed with loose change and leave with a succulent for less than £2. Or you could spend hundreds of pounds on some of the rarest and most unusual plants for sale anywhere in Bristol.
You can ask owner Leo Bentley for a coffee and a slice of cake while shop dog Baloo, who Leo rescued as a stray in the mountains of northern Portugal, stands guard.
Peruse the plants and flowers and maybe stay for an evening of native American flute workshops or horticultural films in the upstairs event space.
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A customer and shop dog Baloo in Oak & Reed
The shop sells mostly plants but also other items including cards and jewellery
It’s a hard life for shop dog Baloo
Oak & Reed is located on St George’s Road, close to Jacob’s Wells Road roundabout where the city centre merges into Hotwells. Look out for plants spilling out of the shop onto the pavement outside.
This is the third iteration of Oak & Reed, which began in the former Aesop’s on St Mark’s Road in Easton and later moved to be part of Art Club Market in Broadmead.
Leo, 37, who has a background in running music and circus events, is also planning to get an alcohol license so Oak & Reed can become a cocktail bar on Friday and Saturday evenings in the new year.
Several regular events take place in Oak & Reed’s upstairs space
Upstairs at Oak & Reed feels more like a living room than a shop
Originally from Bredwardine in Herefordshire, Leo now lives in east Bristol and has the work of many of his friends for sale in his shop, from t-shirts to pottery to lip balms all made from plants collected around Bristol.
Leo says that his main aim with Oak & Reed (named after The Oak and the Reed, one of Aesop’s Fables) is to create a place where other people can be creative.
“I feel like because I have a space that is a blank canvas, I have initiated the plant shop and the cafe but the rest of the space is really for people to utilise.”
Leo says that the plant shop element of Oak & Reed is where he puts in the majority of his attention, having been fascinated by plants and flowers since he was a child. He has never studied horticulture but has also worked as a gardener for more than a decade
A look at the shelves shows plants that have been imported from Peru, Ecuador and Thailand.
Plants and flowers here come from all over the world
Prices for plants start at £1 and rise to the hundreds of pounds
The shop was previously Relics antiques, a shop that had been here since 1974
Leo serves coffee, tea and cakes from the shop
Oak & Reed has plants and flowers of all shapes and sizes
Items for sale cover almost every inch of the shop
Christmas decorations currently compete with space with plants
“I feel like I have the opportunity to offer this space to a diversity of groups and individuals, and I want to offer a safe space for minority groups,” says Leo, who comes from a travelling background
“Now I have this building, people can come here, drink hot chocolate, chat, meet new people and learn about horticulture.
“They can be a part of a creative movement in what is a safe space for anybody who just wants to come and relax.”
Flowers lure customers in from the cold
Oak & Reed is on St George’s Road close to Jacob’s Wells Road roundabout
Leo and Baloo – the dream team at Oak & Reed
All photos: Martin Booth
Read next:
- ‘Hotwells & Harbourside is my home and I want to make it better’
- Local flower seller gifts kindness to the community
- Sustainable shop could be named UK’s favourite local business
- Pop-up plant shop secures permanent store in coveted spot
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