After meeting Jonno, I continue an exploration of people like me who have a deep passion for collecting and caring for plants. While I have only been at it for just a year (when I finally had enough space to pick this up again), this is actually not new for me. I had a green thumb as a young boy. I remember watching Mister Miyagi from Karate Kid explain the patient and slow beauty of bonsai to Daniel-san as a young boy and started collecting and caring for plants. It turns out that I had green fingers. I was curious, creative, systematic, and obsessive and I started growing anything from curious weeds to affordable bonsai (to a very young boy). I did not know this at the time, but this passion stems from a nurturing quality within me. As I started my career, I found that I had a gift for mentorship, for teaching, and for helping people grow. I find that I get the most joy from acquiring small or beat-up plants and patiently enabling them to grow, rather than acquiring expensive picture-perfect specimens. I’m curious why other people enjoy this activity (people who have gone much deeper down this rabbit hole than I have) and set out to meet a few of them. Many thanks to Quinn Lum who helped me produce this series.
Darrick Chan and Fiona are the pair behind Atlasgreenie (Instagram and Carousell), whom I only just now realized was also featured by another photographer Jayden (video post on their greenhouse here). After buying a few plants from Fiona on Carousell, I finally got to meet her when she delivered a Philodendron Patriciae that I purchased from her. I ended up talking with her for nearly an hour, and after 30 minutes of curiously observing me, her 2 lovebirds finally screeched to be let out and wanted to socialize a little with me. I thought — I had to collect a shot of them for this series. :)
Why do you love collecting and caring for plants?
Plants have a deep personal meaning for the two of us because it has helped tide us through difficult periods in our lives. It is through this journey, that we realized there's always something rewarding in the simple act of just being around and caring for plants — in a special way that boosts our spirits. We started Atlasgreenie to continue this journey and to also bring out the best in people through nature by helping them connect with nature while improving their personal well-being at the same time.
When and how did get started?
Both of us started out as people who were simply buying plants for home decoration. Our passion and love for plants grew as we accumulated more of these green babies. Fiona has been a plant enthusiast since her childhood days. I (Darrick) was one of Fiona's first customers. As a young plant parent, taking care of these little green babies was not always easy for me. Whenever I needed help, Fiona was there to share tips and suggestions from her experience nurturing these sometimes-demanding plants. Inspired by Fiona's passion for plants and her generosity in sharing her deep knowledge, I joined Fiona in founding AtlasGreenie.
How many plants do you have? What type of plants do you focus on?
We now have more than 500 unique species of plants collected from all over the world, painstakingly collected and nurtured over years. Some are even unidentified in the plant taxonomy. We focus on aroids, mainly Monstera, Philodendrons, and Anthuriums.
What is your "process" in your plant journey?
Step 1: Nurture with lots of love - After our green babies are sourced, we shower them with love, nutrients, and music (because it helps). They are given the best conditions to acclimatize in our very own greenhouse
Step 2: Propagate with more love - We have accumulated an eclectic collection of high-quality mother plants with great genes which give rise to healthy green babies for propagation. We then nurture these babies in the best environment that will allow them to thrive with happiness
Step 3: Deliver with heart - When we do sell our plants, we make sure that they are delivered in great condition. It would be awful to nurture these plants for many months and sometimes years, only to have them damaged in transit. We pack it carefully and make sure that they’re moved carefully to their new home.
Why did you pick this plant to be featured with you in your portrait? Is there a story behind it?
Fiona and her birds are Anthurium lovers. Darrick on the other hand is a monstera lover. Both the Anthurium Red Crystallinum and the Monstera Burle Marx Flame belong to our series of resurrected plants. When they were originally sourced, these were immature baby plants that suffered severe root rot when they were delivered to our greenhouse. They had both lost their beautiful foliage, and we only had sad stumps to work with. We painstakingly showered them with lots of love, patience (and music). Like a phoenix, they were finally resurrected and have been growing happily ever since.
Mami Ishibashi makes a cameo visit to the studio because she wanted to meet and play with Chirpy and Kiki, Fiona’s lovebirds.
Photographer: DGT Portraits
Producer: Quinn Lum
Space: Studio 2020