Being Home With Hunker is a podcast where each week we chat with designers, artists, and creatives in the spaces that express and shape their identities: their homes.
"I feel like when you're decorating a space or making it feel like home or a place where you want to come home to or spend time in, it's like writing a love letter to yourself, right?," says Christopher Griffin. "And so, why rush a love letter to yourself? Take your time. Allow yourself to grow within that letter."
On the Being Home With Hunker podcast, we feature Christopher Griffin, otherwise known as Plant Kween.
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Christopher self-describes as a Brooklyn-based Black queer non-binary kween. That's queen with a K, people! They are a nurturer and if you follow them on Instagram, you'll see Christopher's care and nurturing in action with their beloved green gurls.
In this conversation, we'll hear some wonderfully practical greenery tips, including spring-cleaning tips for plants, as well as the three best plants for beginners. I mean, of course — we are talking to the Plant Kween. However, Christopher also likes to encourage people to figure out plant care on their own — that tips and tricks learned online are just guidance. As they say, there's no absolute truth. Lean into curiosity and be intentional with what you bring into your space.
We also get heart-centered in this conversation where they share about the influence and inspiration of their grandmother and mother in their life. And Christopher also shares how caring for their plants is a reflection of their own self-care routines.
In this episode we also talk about:
- By day, Christopher is the Assistant Director of the NYU LGBTQ+ Center — they've been doing LGBTQ+ work since high school.
- How their journey as the Plant Kween started in 2016 with a marble queen pothos as they moved into their empty Brooklyn apartment and wanted to bring some life to their space — and they brought the plant back to life, thanks for the legacy of their grandmother who had a great appreciation for nature. She was known as The Plant Lady on her neighborhood block.
- How their grandmother would bring them on dates to nurseries when they were young. She took them under her wing. She was the original Plant Kween!
- How many plants Christopher has in their apartment. (It's over 200!)
- How for them, their plants are a reflection on how they care for themself. Plants are a mirror to the ways they need to be intentional and caring for themself.
- They share their plant care routine … and their Christopher routine and rituals, and where they put their energy.
- We talk about their "green gurls," of course. And how they communicate with their plants.
- How when they moved into their apartment, they took time to see how the light hit the walls before filling their space with plants and things.
- Why they don't like to use the term "black thumb" or "brown thumb."
- Three people whom they would want to visit and what plant they would bring to them. (Oprah, we're looking at you!)
- How their home expresses their identity.
Learn More About Christopher Griffin, Plant Kween
If you want to learn more, read more, discover more about Christopher Griffin / Plant Kween, visit any of these places:
Being Home With Hunker is a new podcast where we explore the idea of "home" — not just as a place where you live, but as an expression of your identity. Each week we talk with designers, creatives, and artists about who they are, how they create meaningful spaces, and what "being home" means to them.
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