Plants have tribes, too and today we’re going to talk all about plants because they make people happy and keep our air fresh and clean, which is a hot (and important) topic at the moment. For decor aficionados like us, plants also add irresistible beauty and personality to any space. I personally love the different variations of green in my own collection and how sculptural some of them are. What do you love about plants?

I recently started to invest more time and energy into plant care in my home, at my office, and on my balcony and wintergarten with very rewarding results. My plants are steadily growing beautifully, I feel more peaceful when I tend to them, and I experience personal satisfaction witnessing the results of the time I spend on caring for them. I’m also teaching my 6-year-old son how to care for plants, which he enjoys more than I anticipated, and this gives me a sense of pride because I know teaching a child to respect nature is key to ensuring that when they grow up, that respect for nature deepens and grows too.

For those of you who read decor8, you may not see a ton of plant stories on my site. So why are plants even on my radar when, a decade ago, I owned maybe three plus a small herb garden in the kitchen? Because of one person, a blogger friend, Igor Josifovic. I met him in 2011 when I was visiting Munich for the first time and ever since, we’ve kept in touch and even meet up a few times a year at fairs and press trips. I’ve been to his home and he’s been to Hannover a few times where I’m based. It’s always a nice surprise when I see Igor, and for the past few years, we’ve been in the same Whatsapp group together, so we frequently interact there and over on Insta too. Igor is a really lovely person, and because I know him so well, I wanted to pull together a post to celebrate his latest accomplishment…

*Plant Tribe authors and friends: Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff*

You may already know this, but Igor is a social media consultant, Founder of decorating blog, Happy Interiors, and the co-Founder of the online community Urban Jungle Bloggers, which has a website, book and Instagram account with over 1 million active plant-loving followers. He is also the man behind the global runaway bestseller, Urban Jungle: Living and Styling with Plants, and now, he co-authors once again along with Graphic Designer Judith De Graaff, another plant book called Plant Tribe which has a new Instagram account @planttribebook that you simply must follow for plant inspiration daily.

Plant Tribe, published in English by Abrams Books (German title releasing this Fall), photographed by Jules Villbrandt, addresses the life-changing magic of living with and caring for plants. Each chapter combines easily digestible plant knowledge, style guidance via real home interiors that the authors visited personally along with their photographer, and inspiring advice for using plants to increase energy, creativity, and well-being and to attract love and prosperity. I love this book and just finished reading it over the weekend. Bravo, Igor and Judith!

ENTER TO WIN PLANT TRIBE

Today on my Instagram @decor8, I’m offering everyone a chance to win a copy of Plant Tribe to celebrate the release of his new book. I hope you will enter to win, three winners will be chosen at 5:00 pm GMT +1 on Wednesday, April 29, 2020 and the giveaway is open worldwide, and you may enter once a day to improve your chances. More information can be found here.

Now, let’s talk to Igor…

Holly: Igor, I love your thoughts in Plant Tribe on how plant care routines can bring more happiness. How often in the book that you encourage readers to take a moment to take care of their plants and themselves. I never attributed plant care as a self-care ritual until now. Why do you view plant care as a part of self-care?

Igor: Plants teach us so much and if we allow these lessons to happen we will not only live happily ever after with plants, but we will be happier and more content with ourselves too. Plants teach us simple lessons that we tend to forget in today's fast-paced world: they teach us to be present and in the moment, that we need to give in order to take, and not to just grab opportunities. They teach us to be patient and allow us to experience gratitude on a new level. I truly believe that taking care of plants, in fact, is taking care of yourself.

“Plants teach us simple lessons that we tend to forget in today’s fast-paced world: they teach us to be present and in the moment.”

— Igor Josifovic

Holly: I love how you broke down three plant care/self-care rituals in your book, can you tell us about the Morning Care ritual?

Igor: Yes, of course! The morning ritual is something we observed among some of our homeowners in the book. They told us that their day starts quietly in the presence of their plants and with a cup of coffee. A morning care ritual allows us to start our day by focusing on our inner being through the presence of our plants. It is basically like a little morning mediation with our plants.

“A morning care (plant) ritual allows us to start our day by focusing on our inner being through the presence of our plants. It is basically like a little morning mediation with our plants. ”

— Igor Josifovic

Holly: Now can you explain the weekly Time Out ritual?

Igor: The weekly time out ritual is an idea of how to turn our plant care into a self-care ritual. Taking a dedicated hour per week to care for our plants is one thing - but why not turn this hour into something that is more than just plant care. Listen to your favorite music, do some yoga, water your plants, clean their leaves, and count your blessings because life is good despite it all!

Holly: I did this yesterday, I spent half a day on Sunday cleaning plant leaves, watering and re-potting, organizing and cleaning my wintergarten, and all the while listening to Dua Lipa’s album. It was time well spent.

Then, I made a gin tonic. (laughing).

Now, there is another plant care ritual that your book suggests that made me laugh when I read it, the Sunday Night Pool Party, please tell us more!

Igor: This idea was actually born on Instagram. On our @urbanjungleblog account, we started sharing every Sunday evening, pictures of people washing and watering their plants in their bathtubs, showers or sinks and we named this the 'Sunday Night Pool Party'. Make a cocktail, put the music on, and give your plants a good shower on a Sunday night!

Holly: Okay, so now I’m curious, which routine do you, the plant guru, practice the most frequently?

Igor: (Laughing). I have my weekly time out ritual where I am basically checking on every plant, watering if needed, cleaning their leaves from dust, removing wilted leaves - all this by listening to some good Brazilian music and putting myself into an elevated and thoroughly good mood.

*Plant Tribe Book, courtesy of Abrams Books*

Holly: Sounds wonderful. Okay so let’s talk about newbies to plant care. What are some of the best plants for beginners? Maybe let’s focus on the ones that are hardest to kill?! (Smile).

Igor: We always recommend to start small and not go for the full urban jungle set-up. We know it is very tempting to go to a plant shop and buy 10 plants at once, but if you are a beginner take it easy and start with one or two and get the groove before you add more to start your own urban jungle. Safe options for beginners are snake plants, ZZ plants, spider plants, but also Lady palm trees or Pothos are good options for beginners.

“Safe options for beginners are snake plants, ZZ plants, spider plants, but also Lady palm trees or Pothos are good options for beginners.”

— Igor Josifovic

Holly: What is your favorite plant at the moment?

Igor: I love my Fiddle leaf fig as it is constantly growing and making me happy whenever I encounter a new leaf popping up. Also, my variegated rubber plant is a daily joy for me.

Holly: I just thought of something, Is there such a thing as a plant trend? For instance, with flowers, we often see a certain flower trend - for instance some become more popular than others for interiors, weddings, as props, etc. Do plants trend, too?

Igor: Yes also with plants you can see trends from time to time. A few years ago it was all about cacti and succulents, then we saw Monsteras everywhere, we currently see the hype for variegated plants and aroids, lush jungle plants. But as an overall trend, we believe plants in general are here to stay.

Holly: Where do we find plants online in Germany? Any good websites?

Igor: For example Plant Circle, The Botanical Room, Sense of Home or Bergamotte are good online plant shop options.

Holly: Oh thank you, I only knew about Bergamotte as I have my eye on THEO! He has been sitting in my shopping cart all week. :) Okay dear Igor, let’s wrap this up with a question everyone always asks about plants, how to care for them. What are your 5 best plant care tips?

Igor: That’s easy:

1. Take a specific time in the week to care for your plants and yourself at once!

2. Observe and learn: let your plants tell you when they need something or require a change. Don't just apply a certain plant care rule. Every plant is different and changes over time.

3. Add beautiful plant accessories like nice watering cans, gardening shears, etc. to make plant care also a visually appealing task.

4. Keep track of your plants' names in order to look them up for plant care tips etc. Especially when you buy new ones, keep the name tag for later record.

5. Don't overwater! Most plants get killed because we drown them with too much love and attention! Let them breathe and grow!

Thank you so much Igor for joining us today on decor8, and for sharing these wonderful images from your book and so many great tips. I can’t wait to have you join HELLO HOLLY soon for our special Plant Tribe podcast, which will be available sometime in late May.

Love,

Holly

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