Hello!
So happy to see you stopped by my site - thank you! Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Michelle and I love all things plants (and bugs). I grew up in a small town in NY and when I say small I mean small as in a we had a “ride your tractor to school day” kind of small…
I spent my summers outdoors collecting bugs and bringing them inside to grow as pets. Coincidentally, my mom spent her summers cleaning up jars and jars of dead bugs. This is how I earned the nickname “Bug” with my family. Growing up my sister and I would always joke that my dad loved his plants more than us. He would spend entire days with his plants and whenever people came over they got a tour… of his plants.
I never understood it until I spent a couple of summers as a landscaper. One year we had record breaking flowers and people would stop by just to take photos with the plants. That was when my obsession really started…
“Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness” — Frank Tyger
In college I took a few courses on horticulture but I was determined to become a marine biologist (even though my jungle apartment clearly screamed plant nerd). I worked weekends and my last few summers in a research greenhouse and I actually enjoyed going into work, hangover or not! Sundays at 8am you could find me jammin to some Bob Marley and watering the plants. It was around this time that I started telling everyone how plant people were the best people and you think I would’ve realized by then that I was in the wrong field but nope! Determined as I was I graduated and did a few stints in the field of Marine Biology which left me broke and disillusioned. After my last adventure I got home and realized that as much as I loved Marine Biology it wasn’t right for me so I started applying for jobs in horticulture and as luck would have it I got into the field! I started with a job in Research and Development and have spent the last 6 years in different areas of growing until finally I ended up where I am now - working with plants and bugs! It is funny how things came full circle...
I started an Instagram account back when I had 52 plants but my collection has since grown to contain over 300 plants. Living with said plants in a 900 square foot, dark apartment has definitely presented some unique challenges. My goal here is to share with you what I have tried and learned over the last decade or so living and working with plants and hopefully have a few laughs along the way. I hope you enjoy!