From 0 to 300! How I became a houseplant enthusiast

Growing up in South Texas, where the weather is almost never below 75 degrees and always sunny, it’s no surprise that I’ve spent my life growing up around plants. My love of plants really started as a young child, working my grandparents’ garden with them, planting citrus trees, monstera deliciosa, palm trees, and other tropical flora. At the time, I really didn’t know what I was doing other than following the directions of my grandfather who would point to whatever mound of dirt needed a plant and signal for me to start planting. However, it wasn’t until college that I truly started falling in love with houseplants.

  Before college, I never thought of plants to keep in the house. It was a strange notion at the time, but that was before I had to get used to college dorm living. Moving to college in Upstate New York brought a lot of new things in my life. It was the first time I left Texas for more than a month and the first time I experienced any real cold weather. So, to try and have a semblance of home, I took a cutting of a pothos my parents had in their garden and stuck it in a mason jar with water. It was like this for a few years, until I graduated and moved down to Durham, North Carolina and had my first real apartment. 

It was around this time that my plant obsession really took hold! Like most, it started rather small, with just a couple of cute houseplants I got from big box shops like Lowes or Walmart and the odd flea market. One of my first house plants is still with me! He’s an aloe vera plant that I got from Home Depot my second week being here. I’ve aptly named him Bob, for his unassuming, but calming nature, which I think the name Bob really emulates :) Anyways, not too long after, my partner, Adam, found an Alocasia polly that really changed the way they looked at houseplants (read their article to see how!). We both got really interested in a variety of houseplants rather quickly.

At first, it was the philodendrons like jungle boogies, painted lady, and the royal varieties. It wasn’t long after I delved into the more rare varieties of houseplants, which brings me to where we are now, with roughly 300 houseplants that include Epiperemnum, Philodendrons, Hoya, Alocasia, Raphidaphora, and Anthurium. I guess, the short story is, I’ve always been in love with plants, just in different ways. At first, it was in how they’ve shaped my outdoor spaces, and now, I’ve focused more on indoor varieties and how they can really shape a home. 

The strangest part is, I’ve never been happier with plants than I have now. I think a part of it is, there hasn’t been a community I can bond with like I have now, but I’m so glad to have been brought into this amazing community of houseplant enthusiasts. If you ask me, that’s one of the main reasons Adam and I decided to create Plants, Plants, Plants; we’ve had so much joy finding and taking care of houseplants, that we wanted to share it with people all across the country. So, there it is! I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post, and if you have, it would mean so much if you gave it a like and comment 🙂