photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Dana Hunter and Bryan Chester are co-owners of the new North Lawrence business Botanical Dreams.

A seat by the waterside is a well known relaxant. Less known is a kiss by a fish.

Well, a virtual fish kiss, that is. Dana Hunter, co-owner of the new North Lawrence garden and pond shop Botanical Dreams, has a koi pond at her Lawrence-area home. She said a highlight of her day is when she gets to sit beside it and watch the fish swim to the water’s edge and make that “kissy face” motion with their mouth and gills.

She and business partner, Bryan Chester, are betting that others will agree. They opened Botanical Dreams at 612 N. Second Street last month, and providing area residents with both fish and plants to stock their water gardens is a big part of the venture.

“Water gardens are becoming more popular than ever,” Hunter said. “They are making a big comeback because of the true tranquility of it. There is just something about the feeling you get watching those fish.”

The shop has about 40 different varieties of fish for sale, Chester estimated. He’s been an amphibian and fish fan since his childhood days, so he’s available to provide advice on what species of fish co-exist well, how to get your pond ready for winter, and any number of other topics.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Fish swim in one of the many aquariums at Botanical Dreams in North Lawrence on April 2, 2025

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

A wall of fish is part of the inventory at Botanical Dreams, pictured on April 2, 2025.

Fish-loving is not a requirement for Botanical Dream shoppers, though. Plants are a huge part of the business, and tropical plants are a particularly big part of the store’s inventory. Both Hunter and Chester had worked in the garden and nursery industry, and after the pandemic it made sense for the two friends to team up and open their own business, they said.

The pandemic played a role because interests in plants and gardening soared during the shutdown, as people were looking for a healthy activity that they could do at their homes. Unlike some other pandemic activities that spiked and then receded in popularity, Chester said interest in plants and gardening has remained relatively high.

“I think they found community in it,” he said of its sticking power. “There are a lot of good Facebook groups they have joined, they have made friends, they have little plant parties and trade plants and look for new varieties. It is just fun.”

Fun is a big part of the business strategy, Hunter said. The business carries unique, handmade bird houses, upbeat wall hangings, and even has contracted with a couple of local artists to create unique watercolor paintings that are part of the store’s offerings. Not for sale, but definitely available for fun viewing by kids and adults alike, are toads, frogs, salamanders and an iguana that are considered shop pets and are on display in specially-made terrariums that showcase some of the store’s many tropical plant varieties.

“We tell people we have all types of plants — annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs — and a little bit of whimsy too,” Hunter said.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Wall art is pictured at Botanical Dreams on April 2, 2025.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

A giant metal butterfly is part of the offerings at Botanical Dreams, pictured on April 2, 2025.

Indeed, the plant inventory goes beyond tropical houseplants. The business is located in a former auto repair shop, and the duo is converting the gravel lot that used to house vehicles waiting for repair into an outdoor garden center that will house everything from trees to tomato plants.

In addition to the North Lawrence location — it is about a block north of the railroad overpass — the business has secured a deal to operate a pop-up shop in the parking lot at Sixth and Monterrey Way that is next to Velocity Church and the Tommy’s Car Wash business. That location will be open for the early part of the summer, and then will reopen for the fall planting season.

While that west Lawrence location is important, Hunter and Chester were excited to land the North Lawrence shop space. They view the street as an emerging, mini-retail area. The owner of the real estate — Lawrence resident Harry Herington — owns several pieces of property along North Second Street. The duo said Herington really wanted to find a unique retail user for the space, rather than simply filling it with another auto repair shop, which probably would have been the easiest path forward.

“The landlord was really a key in this because he wants to develop this street as a shopping destination,” Chester said.

The shop already has started to see some of the synergy of being next to other unique shops, Hunter said. She mentioned people who stop for coffee at Uplift Coffee shop next door taking time to see the offerings at Botanical Dreams.

That synergy also might end up extending to its other neighbor, River Rat Print & Skate shop. After all, maybe skaters need a dose of tranquility after a day of thrills at the half pipe. Hunter is happy to try to convince them, and anyone else, that a water garden is a great prescription.

“I like the idea that you can escape to your little oasis,” Hunter said. “Things can be hectic and crazy in the day, but when you get around your koi pond, things seems to slow down a little bit. You can hear the running water, and you look at the beautiful lotus or lilies you have. You look around and you truly see something you have created. It is like a piece of art.”

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The interior showroom of Botanical Dreams is pictured on April 2, 2025