In the summer of 2020, when we were all living in a collective feeling of malaise over our country's racial tensions bubbling to the surface amidst a grim backdrop of a worldwide pandemic, I spoke with Christopher Griffin for the first time. Griffin is the ferocity behind the moniker Plant Kween, a New York City-based plant expert caring for a collection of 200-plus house plants who utilizes Instagram as a digital diary to educate the masses, theatrical flair included. If Plant Kween's bold, fashion-forward frocks and cheek-to-cheek poses with verdant tropical plants don't conjure up fantasies of being in Bali, they certainly make one wonder, Could I become a plant parent too?
Recently, I sat down with Griffin again to talk about his latest multi-leafed endeavor, a new book called You Grow, Gurl!, published by HarperCollins. “The book was a truly humbling process," Griffin says. "I wasn't sure if I was ever going to write a book in my lifetime or at least have the opportunity, the time, and the space to do so. So when HarperCollins reached out, I took it as a sign."