Introduction I’ve always loved plants. Growing up, I was inspired by my grandmas June and Rafaela, who were
the quintessential plant ladies. Both sets of grandparents had large fruit and vegetable gardens at home, and I recall following them around the garden and assisting them with planting and harvesting as a child. I was too young to understand the science of what they were doing, but I was enamored nevertheless. As a young adult in New York City, I dreamed of filling my first apartment with a variety of interesting plants, but achieving that dream wasn’t as simple as I’d hoped. I bought many plants only to then watch them die a slow and painful death—all due to my lack of plant knowledge and desire to buy plants based purely on appearance. I became frustrated and decided to learn as much as I could about plants and what makes them flourish. I read books, researched online, asked questions at the plant shops, bought more plants to practice with, and enrolled in plant-care classes at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and ta-da! Here I stand, a plant lover who can’t stop buying plants, talking about plants, learning about plants, and dreaming about plants. After a lot of diligence, education, and trial by error, I have been fortunate to be able turn my love of plants into a career as an interior plant designer who has the pleasure of selecting, styling, and caring for plants. With that comes educating new plant parents as well as expanding my own education.
The first two houseplants that I was able to keep alive were a peace lily I named Patsy (after Patsy Cline) and a small money tree I named Robert Plant (after, you guessed it, Robert Plant). I learned very quickly that Patsy was an emotional lady who would droop when she was thirsty but would perk back up an hour after having a big drink of water. When the foliage of Robert Plant was becoming discolored, I couldn’t pinpoint the cause. But after some trial and error, I was able to find him a sweet spot in a window where he grew from a 1-foot-tall tree into an almost 7-foot-tall tree over the course of five years. Robert Plant has since moved on to the plant afterlife, proving that I will continue to make mistakes as a plant parent. And while the love and understanding that now goes into each of my plant relationships can be trying at times, at the end of the day, it’s always immensely rewarding.
Beyond the ability of plants to bring beauty to your home, they also offer such benefits as filtering the air and inspiring creativity and focus. Overall, they improve the quality of your day-to-day life just by their sheer existence. They bring color, warmth, style, and life to a space. They really have a way of growing on you. Once you start surrounding yourself with plants, you won’t be able to stop, because plants just make life better.
Copyright © 2021 by Lisa Muñoz. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
