From the Los Angeles Times:
‘I rap to my plants’: Meet the Black plantfluencer with a fresh take on plant parenting
By MICAH FLUELLEN, ART DIRECTOR
FEB. 17, 2021 2:03 PM PTThis is part of our series PLANT PPL, where we interview people of color in the plant world.
Courtney Warwick is a budding plant parent. It started during quarantine. She was perusing social media when she happened upon the page of plant and interior stylist Hilton Carter (@hiltoncarter). From there, she followed her curiosity and stumbled upon interior plant care specialist and designer Bri Saintt’s page (@eargardn), and that’s when she was blown away. She had been around plants before — her mom and sister owned some — but her research during pandemic isolation lighted a flame under her.
“I was so inspired and fell in love,” she says.
She purchased some plants and created the explosively fresh Instagram account @blkgirlgrnthumb.
@Blkgirlgrnthumb became her base for floral and fashion curation, and she has been expanding her audience by posting photos from her life with plants, including chic clothing choices, notable book selections and stylish plant arrangements.
“Plants just make our space look and feel so much better. We were definitely lacking their beauty and energy for sure. Everything has felt magical ever since we added them to the family,” she wrote in one post, exploring how plants have transformed her life and her household in Long Beach.
It also led the airline industry employee to her side hustle: I Rap to My Plants-branded mugs, canvas bags and T-shirts.
She also blends her love for plants with her keen fashion sense in a photo series that highlights stylish plant parents of color with their plant babies. Sneakers and Plants is shot by Los Angeles-based photographer Kasey Stokes (@stokley.jpg) and will make you fall in love all over again with plant parenthood.
… Q. I noticed lots fly accessories and fierce foliage in your IG feed. How do plants and fashion complement each other?
A. Plants just add that extra flair and pop. There are so many varieties of plants, and you can find them to coordinate with your outfits because they’re so colorful and vibrant. As of lately I have seen so many brands now releasing products in different shades of green because of the sudden interest in plants and nature overall. It was something I wasn’t seeing much of before. Plants can complement any outfit, and they definitely complement any space.
This got me thinking: what’s the gayest plant?
I’d say the least gay is a scruffy lawn. During the last El Nino year, my lawn got green enough, but was still so much more motley than my neighbors’ lawns, that a beer commercial was shot on it.
