Christopher Griffin by no means imagined rising as much as be referred to as the Plant Kween, however his connection to nature started lengthy earlier than he was born. Griffin’s grandmother grew up on a farm in Clayton, Georgia, owned by his great-grandmother. Her deep appreciation for that land formed her life. After migrating to Philadelphia, the place she raised her household as a single mom, she discovered solace in vegetation and handed that love of nurturing them to her kids and grandchildren. Griffin remembers how she curated her personal backyard as a supply of pleasure, drawing from her roots on the farm. From an early age, he turned her keen pupil and developed a love for nature. Nonetheless, it wasn’t till 2015 that he bought his first plant—in search of refuge in a world that usually felt chaotic and overwhelming. Right now, that preliminary buy has grown right into a lush nursery of over 200 vegetation in his Brooklyn house.
Whereas caring for vegetation includes a journey of trial and error, Griffin wouldn’t commerce it for the peace it brings him. “I get pleasure from a routine, and my vegetation present me with an exquisite sense of accountability,” he shared in an interview. “They depend on me to take care of them, which provides me a way of management, stability, and duty. As somebody who navigates anxiousness, these are invaluable issues to have company over inside my residence.”
Griffin’s vegetation additionally supply a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of New York Metropolis. “In a metropolis like New York, there are inexperienced areas, however they’re not at all times accessible,” he defined. “To get up surrounded by nature is calming. There’s analysis displaying that vegetation scale back stress and assist us focus. For me, as somebody who holds intersectional identities, each time I step outdoors, I face waves attempting to erase me, drown me, or wash me away. I’ve created a house that appears like calm waters—a spot the place I can float, exist, and put together for the following day.”
Plant care requires persistence, which could appear formidable to somebody with anxiousness, however Griffin sees magnificence within the course of. “Give your self grace as a result of the rewards are immense,” he advises. “We study extra from our failures than our successes. In gardening, there aren’t actual failures—it’s all about trial and error, curiosity, and experimentation. That’s a terrific philosophy for all times. For Black folks particularly, gardening could be a profound metaphor. Typically we plant seeds whose fruits we could by no means see, however future generations will. Crops remind us to hydrate, nourish ourselves, search daylight, and provides ourselves room to develop. Even when a beloved plant dies, the teachings stay, serving to me do higher subsequent time.”
Past gardening, Griffin has cultivated a life full of pleasure and bounds to reduce stress. “My household brings me pleasure. We’re small and have confronted plenty of loss, however they’re my basis. I even have a selected household of long-time associates who assist and nurture me. After which there’s me—I’m a celebration all by myself,” he says. “I really like solo touring as a result of I get pleasure from my very own firm, a lesson I needed to study. I additionally love biking and discovering new methods to expertise pleasure.”
Griffin’s ardour for vegetation and pleasure impressed him to share it with the world, not simply on social media but additionally in a e book. In the summertime of 2020, HarperCollins approached him to write down a information. The outcome was You Develop, Gurl!: Plant Kween’s Information to Rising Your Backyard, a labor of affection.
“I wrote it in 4 months and photographed it throughout that very same time,” Griffin recalled. “It was a ravishing course of, particularly in the course of the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Writing day by day gave me focus. It’s unbelievable to have one thing tangible that captures these reminiscences and in addition serves as a useful resource for others. The e book is stuffed with tales—about my grandmother, encounters with fellow plant mother and father, and extra. It consists of meditation and respiratory workouts, playlists, and sensible recommendation on how vegetation can assist in therapeutic, particularly for Black folks.”
You Develop, Gurl! is accessible for buy, and you may observe Griffin on Instagram @PlantKween.