Green Up Your City: Meet Aimée from Canterbury.

At Plant Sit our mission is to make cities greener, on the inside. We are also pretty nosey and love to see people’s plant collections & hear about their journey into plant parenthood, so this is why we are talking to a new plant enthusiast every month for our new #greenupyourcity feature.

Meet Aimée from Canterbury, Kent who has, at last count, roughly 58 plants in her lovely home (not including propagations & smaller babies!).

What is your favourite thing about owning plants?

This has really developed over the years, there are just so many wonderful reasons to own a house plant! When my collection really started to grow in size a couple of years ago, I noticed that I was learning a lot just through the maintenance aspects. Learning each plant's individual needs in terms of light, water and soil has been really enjoyable, and when you get it right and the plant thrives, it is incredibly rewarding.

That whole process has been a real tonic for anxiety for me, because when it is ‘plant time’, I’m probably the most present I am all day. Plants really are my safe space. I truly believe now that plant care is a form of self-care, and caring for plants can serve a lot of reminders to yourself to tend to your own needs too.

I start each day now with a coffee and ten minutes just checking over the gang, and I would recommend that routine to anyone, especially if mental health is a struggle for you.

Why did you start collecting plants in the first place?

I can remember the first plant I bought home, I was 23 and it was what I now know to be a Peanut Cactus. I picked it up in a little store in St.Ives where I used to live. I was about to move back to Kent and was feeling quite sad; I was going through a breakup and a whole lot of life upheaval, and I bought it to cheer myself up - it was just so cute! I named it Wilson and it sat on my lap the whole drive from Cornwall to Kent.

Shortly after I picked up a Spider Plant and my first Dieffenbachia, and I think I was drawn to them (plants) because I wanted to have a fresh living environment in both a physical and mental capacity. They gave me something to focus on anyway! I left them in the care of my mum when I flew out to Australia the following Autumn, and when I returned around 10 months later, sadly only Wilson had survived haha! Ever since Wilson, I have always had at least a few plants around me.

Years of living in rentals and shared living environments, you end up without access to a garden you can consistently maintain. Having indoor plants was a way of bringing nature indoors, in a capacity that is manageable with the constant change in living arrangements.

What is your best/favourite plant tip?

Just cos it’s a big pot, doesn’t mean your plant will grow bigger! I have potted so many plants into pots that were too big for them in the beginning, and they have developed root rot quicker than you can say Fungas Gnats Suck. When it’s time to repot your plant, increase the pot size to one that is around 1.5 times bigger than its current one to stop your plants from drowning in damp soil.

What is the next plant you have your eye on?

My partner and I are currently in the process of moving into a bigger place, and I’m hoping to buy a Bird of Paradise as a housewarming gift to ourselves. Then again, I have wanted a Calathea Musaica for a while now too… Those leaf patterns utterly blow my mind! Watch this space...

We loved chatting to Amiée all about her journey into plant parenthood. You can find her at @palmxplants on Instagram if you want to keep up to date with her plant gang & be first in line when her blog is launched.

Want to get involved in #greenupyourcity in the future? Get in touch with us & you could be featured next 🌿