60 Seconds on Earth with Plant Kween

HANNAH ROSE MÉNDEZ

To start things off, how are you?

Christopher Griffin aka. Plant Kween

I am enjoying my summer. Taking things really slow. Redefining what productivity means to me in this particular time. As an educator, the summers are an opportunity for me to ideate, dream, brainstorm, to figure out what I want the next academic year to look like. So, I’m enjoying every slow moment.

Hannah

Where are you right now?

Plant Kween

I’m currently in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where I currently live. I’ve been living in Brooklyn for about 10 years now.

Hannah

What is your favorite thing to do in New York?

Plant Kween

There’s a few things that I love doing in New York—that’s why I’ve been here for 10 years. But, I would say my favorite thing to do is to ride my bike. I love biking near my neighboring park, which is Prospect Park.

Hannah

What is your favorite plant species?

Plant Kween

My favorite plant species, and I’m not going to let my other green girls hear this, would probably have to be the Monstera Deliciosa. There are over 48 varieties of the Monstera, so I would have to say that would probably be my favorite.

Hannah

Nice. What’s the best place you’ve traveled to?

Plant Kween

I would have to say Annecy, France in southern France. I went on a college trip—it was a beautiful town, this mountain bowl with a crystal clear blue lake.

Hannah

If you eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be?

Plant Kween

If I were to eat one meal, it would probably be this custom salad that I get from Sweet Green. I get it every day I’m in the city, and I pair it with a little donut for dessert. So, a salad with a donut for dessert would probably be the meal I would eat if I could only choose one meal.

Hannah

How many plants do you have?

Plant Kween

I counted last night, and I believe I’m at 238 plants in my little Brooklyn oasis of an apartment.

Hannah

When do you feel most confident?

Plant Kween

There are probably two situations in which I feel the most confident. Number one is if I have a badass outfit on. Honey, if she’s looking good, she’s feeling good. Then the second would be when I’m surrounded by friends and family who love and support me, and we’re like lifting each other up.

So, when I’m surrounded by the communities I love and that love me. And when I’m rocking a badass outfit.

Hannah

What is your favorite childhood memory?

Plant Kween

I grew up in Philadelphia and my grandmother was an avid gardener. She would take me on these little trips to nurseries in Philadelphia. I looked them up, they don’t exist anymore. We would go on these day dates, and I would get to pick out the plants and she would educate me on the different plant species and how to care for them. She’s the reason why I started Plant Kween. Plant Kween is the embodiment of how I saw my grandmother when I was younger.

Hannah

What can you tell us about your book, You Grow, Gurl?

Plant Kween

Yes! You Grow, Gurl is for all the folks out there who are looking to bring nature into their home with ease. Greening up your space can be an anxious process, but You Grow, Gurl takes folks through my journey and all the things that I learned. It includes tutorials and tips and tricks as well as breathing exercises and meditation. Then, obviously because she’s a queen that loves fashion honey, there are also fabulous photos with some fabulous outfits and wardrobe choices. But, in short You Grow, Gurl is a fun campy, playful guide to greening up your space.

Hannah

How do you find rest?

Plant Kween

I find rest by, honestly, just listening to my body. If I am tired, she’s not drinking coffee, she’s taking a nap. If I don’t have the energy for it, I say no. It’s really about establishing those boundaries for myself.

Hannah

If you could be any plant, what would it be?

Plant Kween

I would probably be the staghorn fern. I love the staghorn fern. She’s the apathetic plant that can grow on the surfaces of walls, trees and other plants. She always looks like she’s striking a pose. I would say that plant is a drama queen and I live for the drama. I live for the dramatic. So, I would have to stay the staghorn fern.

Hannah

Are you a morning bird or a night owl?

Plant Kween

I am a night owl yearning to be a morning bird, period. So yearning, so yearning, my God.

Hannah

And is there a favorite green girl?

Plant Kween

That is a difficult question. Cover y’all ears, everybody. I would probably have to say my most recent addition to my plant fam: it is a 30-year-old Monstera Deliciosa. She’s almost just as old as I am, but she’s just sprouted her fourth leaf and I am gagging because it’s absolutely beautiful. She’s serving new growth realness.

Hannah

Can you share one super important plant care tip?

Plant Kween

Honestly, it has nothing to do with the plant and all about you as the plant parent. It is to be curious. I think when we bring plants and nature into our home, we miss opportunities to learn.Each plant is a classroom, and I would encourage folks who are looking to green up their spaces to be curious and to learn about the history of that plant: where it comes from, how it made it to your living room, your bathroom, your office. Plants have a deep and rich history. I think it’s important that, as plant parents, we allow ourselves to journey into that history.

Hannah

What’s one affirmation you live by?

Plant Kween

One affirmation I live by is that we are basically house plants with complex emotion. A lot of the things that our house plants need, we need: water, sunlight, nutrition, all those things. So, yeah, we’re all house plants with complex emotion.

Hannah

What’s one thing that makes you feel most at home?

Plant Kween

The one thing that makes me feel most at home is—is it obvious?—plants. I love when I have the opportunity to interact with nature, whether it is frolicking through a beautiful forest or whether it’s a cute little house plant. Plants make me really feel at home because they spark so many joyful memories for me, past, present, and what could be. So, plants are definitely the thing that make me feel at home.

Hannah

What is your go-to karaoke song?

Plant Kween

Oh my goodness, there are so many. It would either be “Emotions” by Mariah or “So Emotional” by Whitney Houston. There we go.

Hannah

What’s your favorite show to binge watch?

Plant Kween

I just finished Stranger Things. That was fun. But, oddly, for some reason I’ve been  binging The X Files. It’s interesting because there are some problematic things in that show. The things they were able to get away with back in the day, Lord have mercy.

Hannah

What’s your climate vice?

Plant Kween

I would have to say long showers. I love, love, love long showers, but I try to make up for it because I do have plants in my bathroom. I’m giving them humidity and there’s actually a window in my shower and I have plants on it. So, I’m actually like watering my plants as I’m taking a shower.

Hannah

Do you play music for your plants?

Plant Kween

Yes. I do play music for my plants and I love playing music for my plants. Yes I do.

Hannah

What kind of music do you play for your plants?

Plant Kween

I’m all over the board when it comes to playing music for my plants. Sometimes she’s listening to a little bit of Lizzo, sometimes she’s listening to a little bit of Celine, maybe some Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj. I’ve recently been playing Yo-Yo Ma’s 2015 album with Kathryn Stott called the Songs of the Arc of Life. It’s a beautiful compilation of instrumental songs, very soothing and peaceful and calming.

Hannah

What’s the best plant to get for beginners?

Plant Kween

The best plant for beginners would actually happen to be this queen right here. That’s a pothos. I have three. One of them in a little Mason jar and then two are in terracotta pots. It was actually my very first plant that sparked this entire journey.

Hannah

Lastly, what or who is your biggest inspiration?

Plant Kween

If we had to go with popular culture, I would say my biggest inspiration right now is Tabitha Brown, Auntie Tab. I had a chance to meet her during her book launch, and her energy is just transcendent. It literally transcends the screens of our phones and computers. Everything that she’s doing right now as a Black woman is just so beautiful to witness. Tabitha Brown would definitely have to be the person I admire greatly right now.

Hannah

Great. That was 60 Seconds on Earth.

Plant Kween

Oh my God. That’s 60 Seconds on Earth. Hope y’all enjoyed toodles. Period!