Green Space

LISA RICCI, who owns Wilmington’s Beauty and the Beach Med Spa, knows a thing or two about relieving stress.

Armed with the knowledge that plants can purify air toxins, alleviate anxiety, and boost your mood, Ricci, who is also a longtime botanicals enthusiast, felt it was a natural next step to open Green Thumb Botanicals at the med spa.

“Plants make us feel good,” Ricci says. 

The shop offers carefully curated specialty plants – a range of indoor and outdoor greens – plant-related gifts, and gardening items. 

“We carry a variety of plants for people who are good with plants and for people who are not good with plants,” Ricci says. 

Using her botanical knowledge, she has stocked Green Thumb with plants that are easy to take care of and highly compatible with Wilmington’s climate, such as tropical plants, air plants, and olive trees. Green Thumb also sells fire pits, specialty pots and pottery, and potted-plant gifts.

Ricci describes Green Thumb Botanicals’ inventory as “quick gift items for people who are interested in botanical ideas, items for the avid gardener, and items for the folks who have a second home here or who have an apartment or condo and want to upfit their space with beautiful plants and greenery.” 

Originally from Greensboro, Ricci served as a registered dietitian before becoming a physician assistant. Her career as a physician assistant then took many turns, going from the gastrointestinal field to the hospital’s emergency department before she pursued aesthetic medicine. 

In 2016, Ricci opened Beauty and the Beach, a med spa and wellness center. The business marries Ricci’s professional background and expertise, as she is able to offer a range of aesthetic health and wellness services. In 2023, the med spa began offering weight management services, including injectable weight loss medications.

Ricci emphasizes that Beauty and the Beach is a small, personalized boutique business, which is an intentional choice. “I like for people to walk in, and I know their name, their face, what treatment they had last,” she says. “I have established a clientele and have stayed busy and continued to grow year after year.”

When a yoga studio formerly located within Beauty and the Beach Medspa relocated earlier in 2024, the opportunity arose for Ricci to explore a new business venture with Green Thumb Botanicals. The shop occupies about 500 square feet within Beauty and the Beach, but it is also designated as its own space with a separate entrance. 

Eventually, Ricci would like to move Green Thumb to a new space that offers more visibility and walkthrough traffic. “There is nothing in Wilmington like Green Thumb,” she says, “so I hope it grows and expands.”

To view more of photographer Daria Amato’s work, go to dariaphoto.com

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