Eva Smith

LINCOLN

Eva Smith bought her first plant, a peace lily, a couple of years ago when she was 11. She was at a Santa parade with her grandmother, she says, and saw it on a stall. “And I said I really liked it,” she says. “And my grandmother said she would buy it for me as she is quite interested in plants. She thinks it’s quite cool that I am into them now.”

Because since then the Lincoln teenager has amassed quite the collection, the peace lily has been joined by dozens of other indoor plants, including Rhaphidophora tetrasperma, golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum), chain of hearts (Ceropegia woodii), satin pothos (Scindapsus pictus), Monstera adansonii and – her favourite plant – a Monstera deliciosa she was given for her 13th birthday that she has christened Bruce. He was bought secondhand, she says, and had been neglected and was very root-bound. But, with the help of a plant-loving friend, Eva re-potted him.

“He has put out two new leaves since I have had him, and he is looking very healthy and large.”

She thinks she has about 60 plants at the moment, but she plans for her collection to (literally) grow: both through propagation and further collection. “One day I want my bedroom to be like a jungle.”

Eva, like many passionate plant parents, has a plant-related Instagram account (@ plants._.9) which connects her to other indoor plant aficionados around the world. She hopes her posts might inspire a few others to get into plants, she says, and in fact has already convinced her best friend to get growing.

“I got her into plants but she has about the same number of plants as me now,” she says. That gives Eva someone to trade plants with and the pair love going plant shopping together.

“But it’s maybe not a normal hobby for someone my age,”Eva admits. “Not that many kids I know are into plants. But I don’t know why. I mean plants are so fun to grow. I like how they grow new leaves and respond to everything that you do for them. It just makes life exciting. And I really enjoy, when I get a new plant, researching it and working out how to look after it. I like learning the botanical names. Frankly I think a lot more younger people should get into plants because they are so cool.”

“I enjoy taking cuttings and propagating my plants. That way I can grow more and swap my extra ones for new species and groups of plants I don’t have.”