I’m lucky. I’ve always been around plants. My parents and my grandparents loved tending to their plants and their gardens, and they taught me to love it along the way, too. I was sorting through a few old pictures, and I found the one below. I’m calling it “Classic 80s Youth.” The shorts and the midriff shirt just scream 80s and the white socks pulled up high really complete the look.

But beyond a good chuckle at my sense of style, what I love about this picture is what I’m working on. I’m painting a plant shelf. It was a fixture of the patio in my childhood home. My memory of the shelf is being on our right, just as you entered the porch. And it was always covered with cool plants and fun things my parents were growing. I don’t remember all the varieties of plants that we had, but I’m sure classics like Pothos, Dieffenbachia, and Aglaonema were on the list. And it was the place that many a Venus Flytrap met its demise from my overaggressive attempts to feed them hamburger.

In this picture, I think we were making a color change in our patio from a bright green to this earthy, brown color. Or come to think of it, maybe it is getting its first coat of paint after my dad built it. I don’t remember exactly, but all these years later, that plant shelf is a perfect way to sum up the backdrop of my life. Plants and gardening were always a fixture. I’m lucky for that, and I’m lucky that I get to share my love of plants with you, every week in this newsletter and every day at the nursery.

To keep the sharing going, this week, we are kicking off our online seminars. We’ve decided not to attempt livestreaming, I am sure we would just mire ourselves in a technological nightmare. Instead, throughout the year, we are going to bring you videos with tips and tricks for all types of gardening. To start, today’s feature is houseplants. So, below you will find links to Houseplants 101 and Houseplant Q and A where I answer questions that you guys sent in. Hope you enjoy the videos and look for more as we roll into spring. Buckle up, it’s going to be a great 2021.