By Rachael Thompson Interiors 04.02.2022

How to Start a Thriving Indoor Jungle, According to Plant Kween

The garden guru shares their top 5 tips for greening up your space.

Indoor plants have a unique ability to enliven a home and make it look that much more impressive. They bring a beautiful fresh touch to a space and are an easy tool to use to instantly brighten up everything from dull bathrooms to lacklustre living rooms.

But before you get too excited and head on over to your favourite nursery to start picking out a bunch of different plants, there are a few things you need to consider to ensure you have a successful plant journey at home.

As someone with over 200 thriving houseplants in their petite NYC apartment, and over half a million Instagram followers who listen to their gardening advice, Christopher Griffin aka @PlantKween knows a thing or two about how to get it right. That's why we turned to them for expert advice. (You can spy more of their plant-filled home here.)

Below, the Brooklyn-based plant expert shares their top five tips on how you can make greening up your space a seamless success story and transform your home into a lush, rejuvenating sanctuary.

1. Conduct an environmental assessment

The first step is to identify what type of space you have so you can later identify if a plant will be happy in your home. "Do an environmental assessment of the space you intend to green up. What is the average temperature and humidity level in the space? What direction are your windows facing and how much sunlight comes into your space," Christopher advises.

Measure the height and width of your rooms so you can make an educated guess as to how many plants you can realistically fit.

2. Do your research

Work out exactly what your plant needs and how much it will grow. This will ensure you don't have to keep moving it around. Plants like to acclimate to their space and stay there. "When that green gurl catches your eye, do research to ensure you can provide her with the optimal environment to thrive. Google it, and match what your space can provide to the needs of that particular kween."

3. Prep your space

Before moving in, Christopher prepped their apartment to be conducive with their plants. "I spent the next few days installing shelving and mapping out and matching up green gurls to particular spots of my apartment based on their sunlight needs. It was a fun process that ultimately led to my green gurls continuing to serve lush lewks."

4. Go big

When you're picking up your new green friends, make sure to also grab some new pots for them too, as the nursery pot won't cut it for long (and won't look as stylish). "In preparation for repotting your new kween, make sure to get a new pot that’s about 2 inches (5cm) larger than her nursery pot...she’s going to need room to grow."

5. Be patient

Just like when you move homes, it takes some time to adjust and get used to a new environment. The same goes for plants. "Your green gurl may go through a period of stress as she gets used to her new home. Be patient with her and keep a close eye on her to see how she responds to her new home for the first week or so."