“Every day we are creating a beautiful space while always trying to do our very best for our customers and our employees." That spirit runs through Cactus & Tropicals, the beloved Salt Lake business owned by Karin and Scott Pynes and guided day to day by Kath Harbin, the general manager who has helped shape the company for decades. Step through the doors and it is easy to get lost in the beauty: lush foliage, blooming plants, and thoughtfully layered displays that make the greenhouse feel more like an escape than a store. But behind that sense of calm is a much longer story, one that stretches from the mountains outside Munich, Germany, to the streets of St. Louis, to a bold young woman named Lorraine Miller whose dream first took root here in 1975.

“I got my first plant when I was around seven years old - a Spider plant. I had it for years.” Bridget Bauer, owner of Beyond the Leaf, Inc, fondly recalls the beginning of her lifelong passion for greenery. Born in Wyoming and raised in the Sugar House neighborhood of Utah, Bridget was always surrounded by plants, both inside and out. Though she dabbled in flowering varieties, her true love was for plants with unique, leafy patterns.