move over, coachella

Pioneering Houston plant shop sprouts up with free weekend 'PlantChella' family festival

PlantChella takes place at The Plant Project Houston in Montrose.

Photo by Angelica Marie Photography

Houston’s first Black woman-owned plant shop — and also the first in Texas — is celebrating its first birthday and inviting the city to party in a green weekend bash.

The Plant Project Houston (2031 Buffalo Terrace in Montrose) is hosting PlantChella, a free, three-day event running July 29-31, to celebrate its first anniversary. Free activities throughout the weekend include workshops on growing succulents, rum tastings, cigar rolling, yoga, sound baths, kids activities and more.

Tickets for each day are free and not required (but are recommended) and can be found online. Here’s a breakdown of events.

On Friday, July 29
“Plants & Pixel” teaches guests how to create their own succulent garden, roll cigars, enjoy a hand-rolled cigar from Cigars with 1502 and Sterne Fine Cigar, sip rum, and catch the film Hitch. 6:30 pm-9:30 pm.

Saturday July 30
“Nature & Nurture” calms the body and mind with free yoga (guests must bring their own mat), sound baths, planting, and more. Sponsored by Athleta, the event also includes cocktails from Traveling Spirit Bar, Acaí bowls and smoothies by Everbowl, and a DIY self-care shower Bundle Bar and Simply Perla Bar. 11 am-1 pm.

Sunday July 31
“The Plant Project Day” features free family fun with a kid planting station, Stevie the Photo Bus photo booth, artsy fun with Vivid Paintings by Al, and a complimentary leaf shine in a leaf lounge by We The Wild. Treats include a Topo Chico Bar, premium artisan pops by Wonder Pops, free cocktails from Traveling Spirit Bar, bites by Gift of Graze, the Little Pot CBD Mobile Dispensary, and more. DJ Good Fat will spin tunes all day. 11 am-2pm.

Also look for the launch of the new Adopt a Plant Texas initiative, which aims to put a plant in every home and focuses on creating a healthier, greener, life — especially in underserved communities — through plant therapy. To celebrate, The Plant Project will give away 150 plants to kick off the initiative.

“I’m Houston-born and raised,” said Plant Project Houston founder Bree Clarke in a statement, “and when I came back home a year ago, I wanted to create a place where everyone, regardless of their skin color, could experience plant joy and what it is to cultivate with your hands and your heart. We’re so grateful to everyone in Houston for the love and support in our first year and can’t wait to share this jam-packed weekend of fun with everyone, as we celebrate the joy of being a place where both plants and community grow.”

Founded on July 31, 2021 in Montrose, The Plant Project has grown to three shops in Houston and Dallas. Clarke also founded an inclusive lifestyle brand called The Iman Project, which focuses nourishing relationships and building a diverse community through style and design workshops.

PlantChella takes place at The Plant Project Houston in Montrose.

Photo by Angelica Marie Photography

PlantChella takes place at The Plant Project Houston in Montrose.

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H-Town rising

Houston leaps back into top 50 'World's Best Cities' list for 2025

Photo by Adrian Newell on Unsplash

Houston made a big leap back into the top 50, ranking No. 40, after previously plummeting into No. 72 last year.

Lively Houston has regained its rightful place among the top 50 best cities in the world, according to a prestigious new report by Resonance Consultancy.

The Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing advisors ranked Houston the 40th best city worldwide for 2025 in its annual "World's Best Cities" list.

The report quantifies the relative qualities of livability, "lovability," and prosperity for the world's top 100 cities with metropolitan populations of 1 million or more. New to the 10th anniversary edition, Resonance partnered with global market researchers Ipsos to include perception-based data into the rankings, surveying over 22,000 people in 30 countries worldwide to determine "the most desirable places to visit, live or work."

Houston made a major rebound after plummeting to No. 73 in last year's report. In 2022, Houston ranked No. 42.

Resonance refers to its previous "World's Best Cities" reports and its 2024 "America's Best Cities" list – which ranked Houston in the top 10 – when explaining the Bayou City's successes. The report praised Houston's vast cultural diversity and placed a great focus on its economic prosperity, even going so far as to suggest Houston residents make more money "and can sock more away."

"...[W]here America’s fourth-largest city truly takes off is in its economic heft and wealth, ranking No. 9 globally for GDP per Capita and No. 14 for Fortune 500 companies in town," the report said. "All that rolls up into an overall Prosperity index ranking of No. 36, which is even more impressive given the No. 14-ranked Price-to Income Ratio [of the city]."

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin and Dallas also earned spots on the World's Best Cities list for 2025, but only one made a similar rebound from the previous year's rankings. Dallas moved up from No. 66 in last year's report to its current rank as No. 55. Meanwhile, Austin took its first tumble out of the 43rd spot (which it had occupied for two years straight) and now ranks No. 53.

London held onto its crown as the No. 1 best city in the world for 2025, followed by New York (No. 2), Paris (No. 3), Tokyo (No. 4), and Singapore (No. 5).