The shelf

The Wicker Park shelf

Where everything starts. Wicker Park, Chicago.

This is the test shelf — the one at home, where the plants are grown before they go anywhere. Nothing here is for sale yet. The first public shelves open in October.

DoloresMarble Queen Pothos $22 Grade ALight 3Cut September 12 from a marble queen that’s lived in a Wicker Park kitchen for years. GeneGolden Pothos $16 Grade ALight 2Cut September 12 from the same golden pothos as half the plants in this apartment. ArthurSnake Plant $25 Grade ALight 1Divided September 12 from a Wicker Park snake plant and potted the same day. MarjorieZZ Plant $32 Grade ALight 1A rhizome split off a Wicker Park ZZ on September 12 and potted. WaltSpider Plant $16 Grade ALight 3A baby snipped off its runner on September 12. BernicePeperomia $20 Grade BLight 3Cut September 12. HaroldHeartleaf Philodendron $16 Grade ALight 2Cut September 12 from a heartleaf philodendron that trails off a Wicker Park bookshelf.

Each plant on a shelf has a name and a page of its own — the one the tag on its pot links to. Names are just names. The plant doesn’t know.