Behind Closed Doors; The Oasis of Quarantine
Houseplants prove to be one of the few businesses to bloom in 2020. Here’s a glimpse into the leafy love affair between social media, plants, and quarantine.
This article was co-written by Jessica Cruz, Hana Lanzkowsky, Megan Pulling, and Houda Tabbal.
Scattered throughout cities across the globe, behind the towering walls of cement, surrounded by buildings, many may find a small oasis, a personal garden, pothos leaves crawling up the walls and trailing stems around tables. Over the course of the last 9 months, city dwellers have polished off their green thumbs and saturated their apartments with a curated selection of home plants.
House plants have been around long before Covid-19 but for many, long term confinement has been a proactive incentive for many to fill their homes with new life. Whether living home alone or needing to spruce up a common space, quarantine has opened doors for new alternatives to connect with nature. Additionally, with an increase in free time, social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest, have been the main tool for sharing all things plant related. People are now dedicating their newfound free time to creating new lush gardens in their homes, all the while subsequently caring for themselves. While not everyone has been as successful with their new plants, creators across a multitude of platforms such as TikTok, and local nurseries are extending their knowledge to help new plant parents. Whether stemming from social media movements to a need for company, we spoke to current plant owners about their newfound green roommates during quarantine and their plant careers.
Many people who live in urban cities don’t have easy access to nature and with the onset of Covid-19, the regulations have made it extremely difficult to even go for a walk in the park. It is well-known that nature has a positive influence on our mental health and a study from the NEJM Journal Watch. Psychiatry showed that “at 18 months, people living near lots that underwent greening had significant decreases in self-reported depressive feelings, by 42%, and feelings of worthlessness, by 51%, compared with neighbors of control lots.” Due to the restrictions of Covid-19, the majority of this year has been spent indoors and has shown a major uptick in depression rates. City dwellers have turned to house plants to replicate that natural environment in their own homes.
For Sophia Kasak, a twenty-year-old woman living in New York for the last three years, her love for plants is nothing new, although her collection is. Upon entering Kasak’s bedroom, her collection of plants string themselves from corner to corner, draped over her desk, pouring down her windowsill, and perched on scattered surfaces Her collection is robust, as the plants seemed to have claimed the room as their own. After moving into her current apartment during the height of quarantine she quickly took advantage. “When I moved to this new space, I had a bigger room, more space to get more plants and really make space feel like more of my own”. As quarantine continued on, so did Kasak’s plant collection. For her, in between the months of uncertainty, she had her plants. “I feel like my plant’s health can pertain to my health, because when I’m taking care of my plants I’m also taking care of myself. […] It’s kind of just like, if I’m doing well then I want my plants to be doing well.” Science has shown plants can help reduce anxiety and stress, which is in high demand for many during unprecedented times. According to the Journal of Physiological Anthropology, active interaction with plants, such as touching and smelling, can be beneficial to mental health.
While many plants are used for decorative purposes, there is also evidence that just by keeping plants in our homes they help create a happier environment. For Canadian college student Kendra Zankl, they are not just plants to her but they have come to mean much more. When discussing her plants, Zankl expresses how Covid-19 helped her develop a new passion. “I think that this room is more theirs than mine. They are on my desk. […] But that’s fine, I’m willing to make sacrifices.” Zankl continued to discuss how she learned that taking care of plants is a symbiotic relationship. “They are my favorite color, which is green so that automatically brings me joy. They help me breathe oxygen because they produce it. In the summer when I get sunburned my aloe is always there to take care of me. It is a very, very healthy relationship I’d say.” Indoor plants are known to lower stress and anxiety levels, while also inspiring a positive attitude and increasing productivity. All of the benefits are welcomed during these unprecedented times when we are trying to stay safe and positive.
During quarantine, many have begun their own careers in the plant industry. Alixx Desiree Cairo, a twenty-five-year-old living in California, has spent her quarantine building a business around plants on TikTok. “I didn’t expect to start a career on TikTok, it kind of just happened. I downloaded the app for the jokes and the next thing I know my account is blowing up.” Cairo’s TikTok account first gained mass attention after posting her video on how to combat “root rot” which gained over a million views. Today, her TikTok has over 115.8 thousand followers, with each video receiving an average of 10 thousand views. Cairo consistently posts plant-related TikToks ranging from soil tips to home fertilizers, and more. It was no coincidence that Cairo’s account was such a success. Just in the nine months of quarantine alone, TikTok gained over 48 million users, just in the United States alone. It’s clear many using the platform are interested in the plant universe as almost 55 thousand TikTok videos can be found under the hashtag ‘plant’.
While anyone can hire an interior plant designer, (an emerging career that does in fact exist) most millennials can’t afford the $2,000 minimum fee required by one Brooklyn based firm, Leaf and June. Instead, young people are turning to social media and visiting small local nurseries for a more DIY approach when it comes to adorning their homes with plants. It’s estimated that in the last three years, houseplant sales in the U.S. have increased 50 percent to $1.7 billion, according to the National Gardening Association.
Last week I visited a Brooklyn based nursery, The Little Shop of Soil. According to manager Richard Pham, the small business always keeps their inventory exciting by sourcing unusual plant species not often found in the area. Specifically, the Pink Princess Philodendron is an increasingly rare man-made hybrid species that sets itself apart with striking pink spots spread across its leaves- and is one of their best selling plants. The pandemic has called into question the survival of many small businesses in New York, though The Little Shop of Soil has remained afloat in a big way. Not only has their Myrtle St. location continued to thrive in 2020, but the owners Adam and Alissa are moving ahead with the opening of a brand new location on Starr St. Their success through 2020 is not a sentiment felt by many though the power of social media and young people wanting to revamp their spaces while adhering to lockdown orders has allowed the houseplant supply and demand to remain triumphant. Adam and Alissa go above and beyond selling indoor plants by offering an array of cement pottery accessories to accompany the greenery, all handmade by themselves. While these additions certainly provide an extra perk for the customer shopping experience, we think there’s something more to be said about why their business has remained successful; that something is the viral houseplant trend wildly fueled by social media.
Akeem Caine is a 29-year-old native New Yorker who works at a Brooklyn law firm by day while building his own plant consulting business on the side. “I hope one day it’ll turn into a full-time gig, I’m taking plant courses right now to learn more about specific species and the environments they thrive in,” says Akeem. He noticed how often he would get texts from friends and Instagram DM’s from strangers asking him for tips on taking care of their plants. “People send me photos of their plants all the time like, ‘Akeem! What do I do?’ and I’m like, honey, your baby is so sunburnt — try moving it out of direct sunlight and buy a self-watering pot.” Akeem’s advice has proved beneficial for many, and now he wants to offer those services as a structured business. His plant consulting business plans to help customers source the best plants for their spaces, given the environment of the customer’s home and the look they’re going for. Akeem’s collaborative business spans far beyond his eye for design by offering help with upkeep and maintenance as well.
Plants have provided many with their moments of peace in a chaotic world. It was the serenity of Sunday morning plant watering routine, the Wednesday afternoon walk to your local nursery and the Monday evenings of filming new plant TikTok’s. Whatever it may have been, it was unifying. It was a moment of clarity and peace. A moment to forget what was happening around you and care for the green sprout in your living room. It was a moment to appreciate the present and the future. Imagine what the baby Monstera plant you bought this month will look like this time next year. Imagine what the world will look like this time next year.
To continue following the dynamics of plants and quarantine, head over to our Instagram blog where we showcase a variety of plant owners collections, tips, and of course TikTok’s!
