Plant Bingo is homegrown in the truest sense — it started in the living room of founders Donovan Moreno and Genevieve Aleman, who once invited people into their apartment to shop for houseplants one at a time.
Moreno and Aleman said Plant Bingo started as informal plant-shopping appointments out of their Riverside apartment after the couple had a baby last year and were looking for extra income.
Word of mouth grew — "I've been to your house," one recent Plant Bingo attendee told them — and the pair began hosting small groups at local businesses instead of one-on-one visits.
The pair started the first Plant Bingo event last September with about 20 people at a cafe where Aleman was working — and it has run regularly since.
What started as one-on-one plant-shopping appointments has grown into a recurring game night that combines plant care lessons with prizes, live DJ sets and, organizers and attendees say, a rare space for strangers to make friends.
People can buy tickets through Greenprint Collective's website, with many events including a meal. Attendees show up, eat and socialize before the game begins. Organizers then run 20 rounds of bingo, starting slow and picking up speed — with prizes ranging from a small succulent to a mini rubber tree.
Every player leaves with something green, a little more plant care knowledge and, often, new friends.
The idea grew out of the founders' own backgrounds. Moreno said the business began with about $90 spent on plants to resell to friends and family before expanding to Facebook Marketplace. Both Moreno and Aleman worked previously at BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, and Moreno said that customer-service experience, plus experience doing social media for restaurants and DJ work — Aleman's father DJs, as does Moreno — turned their events into something all their own.
Aleman said she was introduced to plants by her father during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She met Moreno about a year later and said their shared interest in plants — and in entrepreneurship — was one of the first things that drew them together. Aleman, who serves as Greenprint Collective's social media and community director, said her father eventually built a larger plant collection than her own.
"We were teaching people about plants because they would come in and not know anything," Moreno said, adding that early customers often didn't know their lighting conditions matched the plants they wanted.
Aleman said she modeled the concept after a similar event she'd seen in another state, then developed her own rules through trial and error to keep the game fair. Greenprint Collective now hosts events throughout Southern California and plans to begin recruiting hosts in other markets.
For beginners, Moreno recommends pothos, snake plants and ZZ plants — all low-maintenance varieties that don't require humidity control. Aleman said she leans toward pothos specifically because its fast growth keeps new plant owners engaged.
Riverside resident Shannon Smith said she's attended about 10 Plant Bingo events since their second-ever event at Cookie Tin Cafe on Spruce Street.
Smith said the rules have become more structured over time, including limits on how many prizes one person can win, to cut down on repeat winners and hard feelings among players.
"It's just been trial and error," Smith said. "I think there's just been certain things to kind of make it fair for everybody."
She said the events have a distinct fun and wholesome feel compared to other social settings. "You're not at a bar, you're not at a club," she said. "It's like-minded people."
Smith said she now attends events roughly every other month, including at Taco Station, Thompson's Brewery and Palm Springs Surf Club — and has expanded her personal plant collection through wins, purchases and gifts from other attendees.
The events have also pushed her to seek out local plant businesses on her own, including one in Redlands and vendors at Riverside's Jungle Fest.
Aleman said she hopes the events read as more than a game night. "This is a really good place to come make friends," she said, noting many attendees show up alone. "You don't need to know any experience about plants."
More information: Greenprint Collective hosts Plant Bingo events throughout Southern California, with tickets available at thegreenprintco.com. The next Riverside event is scheduled for Sept. 27 at Killer Queens Social House.
