Yummertime | Ambassador

How did gardening first become a part of your life together-was it indoor plants, outdoor growing or both?

• Just our relationship started out with a very small text in 2010 (Brock romantically said "sup bro"), our garden started out very small (and indoors) in 2012. So small, in fact, that our first plant together was a tiny succulent that sat in the window of our 400 square foot apartment in San Francisco - low maintenance and extremely resilient, exactly what two 20-year-olds needed.

How would you describe your gardening style today (intuitive, research-driven, experimental, low-maintenance)?

• Call us crazy, but we listen to our plants! Which, in a way, is an experimental approach to gardening. We never pretend as if we know everything about gardening, even indoors (after having had plants inside for 15+ years together). Sometimes it’s about moving a plant to a different place inside or at a different location on our property. This our first time having our own outdoor garden (and in a California canyon, no less, with its own unique advantages and disadvantages). Some plants, like our lavender, love growing on the East side of our property, but not on the West! We’re forever students in the garden, and our plants are our professors, telling us exactly what they want every day.

What role do indoor plants play in your home—more atmosphere, design, airiness, daily joy, all of the above?

• All of the above! Our indoor plants are as intrinsic to our interior design as they are to our own self-care. We seek out plants for how they shape a room as well as for how they make us feel. We incorporated a red, almost pink, anthurium into our bedroom design because its red flowers tied directly into the artwork in the room, but also because it sparked joy in both of us the moment we saw it. And we have an asparagus fern sitting right by our bathtub, with its airy, feathery leaves providing a sense of calm as much as a soft texture to the space.

How do you decide which plants belong indoors (and where they’ll thrive)?

• As rudimentary as it sounds, a lot of our decisions for indoor plants are based on light levels! A lot of our indoor plants prefer partial or indirect sun.

What’s your core indoor care routine—watering rhythm, light check-ins, seasonal adjustments?

• Since all of our indoor plants have differing needs (from moisture levels to light, etc), the only consistency we have in the form of a routine is the fact that I stick my finger in the soil of each plant pretty much every morning. We love a moisture meter, but I always feel like my finger does a better job haha! Then, depending on what the weather is tracking like each day, some plants might be rotated or moved  for more sun, less sun etc. Every day, we listen to our plants. 😊

Which indoor plants have been your most rewarding to grow, and why?

• Brock has this very sweet inclination to choose the “Charlie Brown Christmas tree” of plants whenever we’re at a nursery, and one day he saw this small Ginseng Ficus Bonsai tree that only had two leaves on it — so naturally, he had to have it! A very slow grower, a year later, it has 32 leaves on it and I couldn’t be prouder of Brock’s bonsai. When it comes to tending to plants, I tend to be the more proactive one, but I oftentimes find it more rewarding to see what Brock grows.

Do you treat indoor and outdoor plant care differently, or do you have a philosophy that ties it all together?

• We actually treat our indoor and outdoor plant care the same. Some needs are definitely different, but our philosophy is simply to always listen to our plants. We don’t presume to know everything, especially since we’re still learning a lot about our garden, inside and out. We pay attention to leaf color, leaf loss, soil moisture, active growth,  the list goes on and on. Plants will tell you what they need if you just listen.

How do you transition plants between seasons—bringing things in, moving them to new light, repotting, and refreshing soil?

• We live in a Mediterranean climate here in LA, so our seasons are relatively mild. That said, we always add nutrient-rich garden soil in the Spring and Fall and fertilize during the active growing season for most of our plants. For outdoor plants, throughout the year we water in the mornings vs. at night (especially since we live in a canyon where fungi love soggy roots) — plants use water more effectively during the day than at night.  For indoor plants, we often shift their locations based on the light level changes throughout the year.

What does spring signal for you in terms of plants—new growth, refreshing your space, trying something new?

• Ahead of spring, we've been planning our spring outdoor refresh by picking up plants we've never planted on our property. I took Chris to his favorite nursery and he (maybe) went a little overboard haha! Most of our yard is made up of perennials, but we’re excited to introduce some stunning annuals into the mix like Snapdragons and Pansies. We also picked up some white Bacopa and yellow Nemesia (both perennials) to add as trailers to our potted plants for some added Spring drama.

Is there a plant—indoors or outdoors—you’re especially excited about right now?

• Truly anything that bears fruit! Our blood orange tree is producing its first bounty after nearly three years of revitalization and it's really exciting to taste the fruits of our labor, literally! We also recently picked up a key lime tree to round out our citrus 'grove,' just in time for margarita season!