This month we interviewed Jennie, whose collection of 80+ plants is giving us some serious Monstera envy. She started collecting five years ago but ramped up her indoor jungle in the past two years. 

College Sweethearts 

Jennie got started as a plant parent in college and started with mastering succulents! 

My plant parenthood journey began in college. I went to the University of Massachusetts Amherst for my undergraduate degree and on campus we had the "Durfee Conservatory," which was a tropical greenhouse. Frequently they would give away cuttings from their succulent collection and I would go in about once a semester to pick up some succulents! I still have those succulents years later and I've even propagated plants from those cuttings. Once my succulent collection was pretty large, I branched out to houseplants. 

It’s really impressive that Jennie was able to propagate succulents so early in her journey to becoming the plant parent she is today. 

Growing From Scratch

We love hearing about people’s interesting stories behind their plants, so we were blown away by this one.

My Mimosa Pudica (Sensitive plant) is very special to me, it's the first plant I've grown from seed! I think it's so unique because it's the only plant in my collection that I haven't purchased. It was a wonderful process to watch it grow into a full plant and I encourage other plant parents to try growing from seed, it's so rewarding! 

Jennie also has a favorite plant, and we’re keeping her secret…

Don't tell the other plants, but my favorite plant is my Rhapidophora Tetrasperma (Mini-monstera). I'm amazed at how fast it grows and how adorable the leaves are! 

Sharing the Love

Jennie gives great advice to new plant parents and inspires those around her to start loving plants the same way she does.  

My advice to a new plant parent is to buy plants that can thrive in the sunlight you have in your home. I find the best gift to give friends/family is houseplants that are easy to take care of to spark their plant parenthood journey! 

 Wishing for New Beauties

We asked Jennie if there’s anything on her wish list, and she’s got her eyes on two new plants for her collection. 

I'm on a variegation kick! I think variegated leaves are so stunning and I love that they're all so unique. In particular, I'd love an monstera deliciosa albo-variegata. Another plant on my wishlist right now is a philodendron hope selloum! 

Follow Jennie’s Journey

You can follow Jennie on Instagram @lifedoesntsucculent to see her incredible plants! 

As always, you can also submit your own story to the Real Life Plant Parent series here. We can’t wait to hear your story.