We wanted to take a moment to formally recognize some of our favorite creators & entrepreneurs in the plant game.

 

These 5 creators and entrepreneurs are of Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage and are changing the plant game. Their content does everything from solve typical plant parent probs to inspiring us with some of the rarest (and moooost beautiful) indoor and outdoor plants we have ever seen. We think it's so important for creators to be showing the world how fun and rewarding it can be to take care of plants. We're happy that so many of us exist, but especially as such a diverse crowd!

We love diversity, and welcome these times of inclusion with open arms! But it isn't all pink princesses and swiss cheese goals... Since the pandemic hit, there have been widespread reports of discrimination and violence against Asian Americans. 32% of Asian adults say they have feared that someone might threaten or physically attack them in a public space at any given time. In 2021, 27% said that people act as if they're uncomfortable around them, down from 39% in 2020. (Source) This is utterly absurd. It is important that we do our part in de-centering the poorly-painted whites-only American idealism portrait in this country, and continue to do the work flooding hashtags and news outlets with accomplishments in FULL color to combat these ridiculously harmful and outdated, racist thinkings.

That being said, we are fully committed to doing what we can to give these creators a platform so that they might gain more traction in their individual missions. Please give them follows and interact with their posts!

Let's get into it!

 

BENJI LE

Benji Le (@benji_plant / website) is a plant and design content creator based in Los Angeles. He spends his time taking care of his plants and finding beautiful ways to incorporate them into his own space - and we love witnessing it! 

His IKEA greenhouse cabinet project has been amazing to watch, specifically. We think it's so admirable to do things out of the norm, and Benji really killed it with his plantscaping on this bad boy! Where plantfluencers typically get the greenhouse, get some nice shelves, grab a humidifier... Benji actually created an entire ecosystem inside his. It's almost like a dry(ish) aquarium! Maybe terrarium would be a better word... You really just have to see for yourself! Check it out here.

He also has an incredible patio. Serious goals.

Check him out on Instagram and Youtube.

 

 

 

MICH TRAN

This is Mich Tran (@michtrann)! She's a 20-something navigating post grad life in Los Angeles and spends her time growing plants, thrifting outfits, and being a social worker! 

On of our favorite videos of hers is her LA Plat Nursery Tour and Haul (check it out here). Orchid Fever is one of our favorites, too, so this video was absolutely everything.

We hope to see more content from her coming up because we love her style and easy going nature.

Check out this super cute unboxing she did from @inheeplants, too!

Follow her on Instagram and Youtube for daily vlogs.

 

 

 

 

DANN

We love Dann (@theplantasian)! He's a good go-to for learning about different plant species and helping his followers to discover what type of plant person they are. His Reel/TikTok content is also hilarious AF, don't say we didn't warn you. You're about to become addicted.

He also has so many plants that we didn't even know existed! It's exciting to poke around his content and see the many different varietals of plants we have at home. 

Like this Jose Buono with conjoined leaves, for example.

Check him out on Instagram or TikTok to learn more!

 

 

 

 

KATIE ANNE

We love a good plant unboxing, there's something just so exciting about it! Especcccially when it's plants. In addition to unboxing, Katie Anne (@katieanneplants) is skilled in the way that she captures her plant babies and shares her tips & tricks with the world! Katie Anne is all about clean aesthetics and tight order, and we absolutely love it. 

Recently she's been prepping for spring and even moving some of her plants outside! We think more content like this would be so helpful to our community (especially those of us drowning in over 100, maybe 200 plants and need some indoor room to breathe this summer!! 

Check out her Instagram for the next unboxing and all the planty gorgeousness.

 

 

 

 

HELEN PADILLA

Helen Padilla is the definition of plant goals. During the pandemic, she recognized the need that plant parents have while going on vacation. Who do we trust to watch our plants? She created Watering Can to solve this problem!

Through her platform she also share care tips and inspirational messages around plant life. This one is one of our favorites! Helen's content really keeps us going.

Download the Watering Can app (@wateringcanapp) or follow them on Instagram and TikTok to see more of Helen and to support her by using her platform the next time you travel.

 

 

 

  

 

We hope that you follow this list, use Helen's platform, and continue supporting AAPI content creators in every industry. Remember to stand up against injustice in your daily life and support your community by sharing everyone's content all the time!

Follow us on Instagram to stay connected with all of the amazing plant creators we've been keeping up with, and to learn more about plants and the amazing ways plants and plant creators strive for diversity.

 

 

Cover image credit: