The story behind Pure Joy Plants—5 things to know

What was once a plant truck parked at Huntsville markets is now a full-blown storefront full of vibrance and life.

Pure Joy Plants, founded by Yarden Binns, is an oasis inside Lowe Mill. Here’s the story behind how it came to life.

1. It started with succulents

Yarden has roots in Huntsville, having moved here in 2008. She stayed in Huntsville, attending Grissom High School, until she joined the military.

Fast-forward to 2018. Yarden and her husband (who was also in the military) moved back to Huntsville from Hawaii.

It was a gloomy, cold time in the Rocket City—a far cry from the vibrance of Hawaii that Yarden had grown accustomed to.

Yarden quickly felt the stark difference between Hawaii and Huntsville’s atmosphere after moving back. She missed the vibrance of Hawaii—especially in the form of plants.

“I used to have succulents in Hawaii—over there anything grows. You just throw it out there and it just grows.”
Yarden Binns, owner of Pure Joy Plants

So she started collecting succulents. Then, she expanded beyond that and started gathering more tropical plants like the fiddle leaf fig and bird of paradise.

2. Hilton Carter helped her out

As she started getting more and more into the plant world, Yarden discovered Hilton Carter. She started following his Instagram account in 2019, and she found an idea there that she ran with.

Carter posted something about a truck with a canopy—with plants in it. That post sparked Yarden’s idea to open her own plant truck right here in Huntsville, and she made that dream come to life soon after.

She bought her truck in March of 2020 and worked on it for a few months. In the summer, Pure Joy Plants made its debut as a pop-up at The Market at MidCity.

3. Her husband helped her come up with the name

As Yarden formulating her ideas for her plant business, she had to come up with a name, of course.

She asked her husband what a good name would be. He asked her a question in return: “What do plants do to you?”

Her response? “They bring me pure joy”—to which her husband replied, “Then name it that.”

It’s a simple story, but one that conveys Yarden’s whole inspiration for opening the store in the first place.

“It just brings me happiness—like back to that carefree island vibe.”
Yarden Binns, owner of Pure Joy Plants

And that’s the vibe that she brought to her store at Lowe Mill.

4. Pure Joy Plants found a permanent home in Lowe Mill

Yarden ran Pure Joy Plants out of the truck for about a year, and during that time, she got a lot of positive feedback.

“We had so much feedback that there was nothing like that here…people kept asking us, ‘Do you have a store? Do you have a store?'”
Yarden Binns, owner of Pure Joy Plants

And she opened a store. Pure Joy Plants officially opened in Lowe Mill Studio 2034 in June of 2022.

In her nine months at Lowe Mill, Yarden has brought pure joy to all her customers, offering all kinds of plants—her personal favorite being the Monstera deliciosa.

But she doesn’t just sell plants. She also teaches classes about them! Here are some of the classes you can find at Pure Joy Plants.

Propagation
Houseplants 101
Terrarium Classes
Macrame Hanger Classes
Kids Classes

Plus, Yarden also does plant-themed weddings in which plants are the main decoration instead of flowers. She’s adorned reception tables with propagation vases which guests can take home as a favor. Such a cool idea, right?