Cactus Store, 5 Essex St.; cactus.store
In a tiny greenhouse tucked between vacant storefronts and luxury apartments on the Lower East Side, you'll find two-tone green-and-yellow cacti, succulents shaped like sea urchins, and orchids that smell like pina coladas. But only if you visit during Cactus Store's seasonal opening hours, Thursday through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., from May through September. Originally based in Los Angeles, Cactus Store opened a New York branch in 2017 and is run by “a group of guys who know a lot about plants,” says freelance photographer Phoebe Chong. Each season, they take a buying trip to the Southwest, picking up cool cacti from various nurseries along the way. The result is a curated collection of unusual plants that are then uprooted and shipped to New York. “It feels like walking through a gallery of botanical artwork,” Chong says of the pop-up store. She bought a coconut orchid, a two-tone cactus, and a cactus shaped like a unicorn's horn. Of course, rarity comes at a price (for example, Pellechiphora strobiliformis, a cactus that looks a bit like an artichoke, sells for nearly $500).