top of page

by Christina J

A cluster of 4 mango fruits growing on on a tree
Mango fruits on a tree

Most of my memories as a kid consist of me being around my dad. My dad pretty much sleeps, eats, and breathes plants. He would always tell me stories of how as a kid in Haiti he would watch his father grow many plants and crops. My grandfather was known for his many gardens and he would allow my dad to help him take care of the plants.


As my dad got older, he kept the passion for plants going. He loves spending time outside in the backyard. When people ask me how many siblings I have, I always say about 1 million or maybe more. The way my father would care for his plants, I most definitely believe they were not just plants, but his children that he loves dearly.


I remember my first-time watering some of my dad’s plants. He had just had surgery and could not quite move around as much, so I volunteered to take on this responsibility. Laying in the bed and hearing the eagerness in my voice, he smiled so wide. “Do you even know how to take care of plants?” he asked. With my hands on both hips, I responded, “of course I do”. With his eyes closed and shoulders shrugged, he said “well, everything you need is out in the shed”.


A smile on my face, I rushed to the shed to grab everything I needed. I dragged the hose to the area I wanted to start watering.


The backyard was filled with many types of plants, flowers, and trees. My favorite was the mango tree of course, and second to that was the aloe vera plant. My father would always cut the aloes in half to give to my mom. She would scrape all the slimy parts into a bowl and massage it into my scalp to make my hair grow nice and healthy because it was rich with nutrients. My dad really loved the bush bean plants. He found it soothing to pull each bean out and he would even have a huge bowl filled with beans all from a single bush.


I opened up the water hose and gently passed it back and forth over the plants. I remembered my dad saying to never overwater the plants. “You need to have a good eye for the amount of water you need”, he would say, “not too much and not too little”. I kept watering till I reached the other side of the backyard. “Not too much, and not too little”, until I was satisfied with the way all the plants looked.


Dragging the hose back by the shed, I washed my hands to go back to my father’s room, but I saw him sitting on the porch instead. “Dad you are supposed to be in bed!”. He smiled down at me. “I know, I did not want to miss seeing this”. The joy in his eyes, and confidence in my new skill, I couldn’t wait till he was all better so we could do this together.


Christina is from Florida.


Photo credit: Mango tree (Mangifera indica) from Wikimedia commons

59 views0 comments

by Gabriela Gallo


Large mango tree with aloe plants at the bottom, next to a chain-link fence. In a backyard in Florida.
The Mango of Gabriella's Eye

Summer air, rocking chair, and mango sweetness in the air. As a child born and raised in Cuba, mango slices on a summer day while sitting on my rocking chair watching tv are some of the most vivid memories I have of my early life. Mango slices, compote, or juice, no matter its form, I love it.


Upon arrival in the United States, it was not the same to find the mango that I loved, with all of the different varieties in the supermarkets. Then, at eight years old we moved to a house in Westchester, Florida, my current home, and where the mango of my eye resides. In the back of the home are two of my most beloved trees, mango and avocado. Not because they are my own, but because both the mangoes and avocados that are grown in my home are like no other. Since moving to this house, my summers take me back to my younger days, sucking on a mango pit as the juice runs down my hand.


My mango tree is outstretched over my home and my neighbors, offering them sweetness in their own backyards. Surrounded by aloe plants, she gives life not only to her fruits, but to the succulents at her feet as well. My perfect mango is delicately sweet, has no inner fibers, and is the size of my outstretched hand. The mangoes grown in my backyard are like no other, they bring sweetness and my childhood to life, one mango at a time.


Gabriela is 21 years old and lives in Miami, Florida. She is a full time student majoring in Biology.


116 views0 comments

Updated: Feb 11, 2021


In case you haven't noticed, we (still) LOVE plants!

Plant Love Stories (PLS) began on February 14th, 2018 as a way to collect and share stories about the plants that shape our lives. To celebrate Valentine's Day and our third birthday, we commissioned original plant-y valentines, also known as #PlantHeartArt. Since 2020 was a rough year, and we can all use more plant love in our lives, we are thrilled this year to share work from EIGHTEEN incredible artists. We hope these valentines make you smile, and we hope that you will share them with the people and plants in your life. For last year's post, cick here, and for printable PDFs of all the valentines, click here!


Happy Valentine's Day from Team PLS!



Artist: Joey Abhold

Illustration of morning glory plants with the words "Every morning is glorious with you by my side"

Bio: Joey Abhold is an Illustrator based out of Appleton, Wisconsin, currently working on commission, from branding to fully-realized illustrated pieces, in both traditional and digital media. You can find him most active on Instagram at @j.abhold.illo and half-active on Twitter @josefabhorred.


Artist: Aim Ren Beland

Illustration of lichens on a log with the words "I've been lichen you a whole lot - Happy Valentine's day from Plant Love Stories"

Bio: Aim Ren Beland creates zines, comics, and other illustrated work in Chicago, IL. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter at @aimrenatus or visit his website at aimren.com.


Artist: KB Brown

Illustration of pink flowers, foxglove plant, with the words "You fit me like a glove, Happy valentines day!"

Bio: KB Brown is a printer and freelance designer/illustrator based in Grand Rapids, MI. Always an admirer of plants (and Valentine's Day), they only just started growing their own collection of plants after years of succulent mishaps. Check out KB's other projects on Instagram @kb.scribble.


Artist: Laura Corchero

Illustration of moss with the words "I love you the moss"

Bio: Laura Corchero is a 22-year-old biologist who is deeply in love with the beauty of life. She also likes to doodle from time to time. Her main goal at the moment is to show people the uniqueness of plants, as ''we only protect what we love and we only love what we know''. Find Laura on Instagram and Twitter at @lacorcher.


Artist: Yiğit Berkay Gündoğmuş

Illustration of two wild onion plants kissing with the words "Allium of me loves allium of you"

Bio: Yiğit Berkay Gündoğmuş is a MSc. student in the Stomatal Biology Lab at COS, Heidelberg University, Germany and in his final semester. Yiğit is actively looking for a PhD position in evo-devo, and can be found on twitter @gundogmus_yigit.


Artist: Courtney Currier

Illustration of a grama grass with the words "dear valentine, you have Stolon my heart"

Bio: Courtney Currier is an ecologist and artist in Tempe, Arizona. Perpetually in awe of their evolutionary accomplishments, she draws inspiration from the plants, critters, and soils of dryland ecosystems. She finds grasses especially curious and is overjoyed to share this charismatic grama grass (Bouteloua sp.) with you! Check out Courtney’s website for more art and her twitter (@court_currier) for more science.


Artist: Iris Garthwaite

Heart made of dyed thread with the plants that made the dyes, with the words "Happy valentine's dye" and "For those that I love"

Bio: Iris Garthwaite is a graduate student at Northern Arizona University where she studies Fremont Cottonwoods, Ecology, and Riparian Conservation. Natural dyeing is an extension of Iris's passion for ecoliteracy, ecology, and generating intimacy with the land around us. The plant dyes in this #PlantHeartArt showcase the beauty and biodiversity of riparian ecosystems in the Chiricahua mountains of SE Arizona. Find Iris at Instagram @dhouk_indie_dyes, Twitter @homoimaginans, and at her website, Dahouk Indie Dyes.

Artist: Kerrigan Gilbert

Illustration of a watermelon slide with the words "youre one in a" and "happy valentine's day"

Bio: Kerrigan Gilbert is a bioinformatician at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, who loves exploring big data sets and making new discoveries. When not on the command line she enjoys chilling with a book, and digital hand lettering and illustration. Follow her art on Instagram @damiarain and science on Twitter @Kerri_Gilbert.


Artist: Grace Hunter

Illustration of a crabapple tree with the words "You're the crabapple of my eye"

Bio: Grace Hunter is a science communicator and writer based in Hamilton, Ontario. She is especially passionate about connecting people with nature in urban environments. Follow Grace on twitter @GraceC_Hunter, and at gracehunter.ca


Artist: Camíla Inoa

Illustration of evening primrose against a night sky with the words "a prim-rose by any other name"

Bio: Camíla Inoa is sleepy illustrator whose favorite things to do include baking, going to the beach, and enjoying quality time with family and friends! Follow Camíla on Twitter @camiinoa, and on camiinoa.com.


Artist: Clarke Knight

Illustration of lotus flowers with the words "lotus grow old together"

Bio: Clarke Knight is a forest ecologist and aspiring watercolorist with a life-long interest in natural history. Although she mostly looks at microscopic pollen grains for her work, she also adores the macro plant world. Since moving to California, she has loved taking hikes to see spring wildflowers and northern California's endemic conifers. Find Clarke on Twitter @ClarkeAKnight and her website, clarkeknight.com.


Artist: Nina McDonnell

Bio: Nina McDonnell is a masters student at UMass Boston studying disease ecology. She is interested in amphibian immunity and susceptibility to chytridiomycosis— a widespread fungal disease contributing to amphibian declines. Aside from research, she enjoys hiking, drawing, and caring for her many houseplants, which have provided joy and comfort during quarantine. Find more of Nina's work on Instagram @amphibina and portfolio site littletoadink.com.


Artist: Sarita Muñoz-Gómez

Illustration of a coralberry with the words "I love you berry much"

Bio: Sarita Muñoz-Gómez is a biologist who enjoys doing art and SciComm. Sarita love plants and plans to keep studying them in graduate school. Sarita has an illustration project called The Fern Mail (@thefernmail1) on Twitter where she draws small stamps for scientists from diverse fields. She also collaborates with the LGBTQ+ Plant Scientists Twitter page by doing art work to help increase diversity in science.


Artist: Fern Pellerin

Bleeding heart flowers, shaped into a heart, with the words "you make my heart melt"

Bio: Fern Pellerin is a Roma nonbinary lesbian interdisciplinary artist currently based in K’jipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki (Halifax, Nova Scotia). Fern’s art practice is currently influenced by past experiences growing up LGBTQ+ and overcoming past hardships. They are inspired by nostalgia, dreams, memory and their own queer Romani identity. Follow fern at @fernpellerin on Instagram and tumblr.


Artist: Lindsay Peltz

Pine tree with a heart and the words "I'm pining for you, valentine"

Bio: Lindsay Peltz is an artist living in the beautiful Okanagan in BC, Canada and enjoys the variety of plant life in the area, except when she accidentally steps on a jumping cactus (ouch). When not drawing, Lindsay enjoys reading, sleeping, baking, and drinking coffee. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @dinosaurandpony and at her website dinopony.com


Artist: Corinn Rutkoski

Illustration of a goldenrod plant and the words "You've got a heart of gold"

Bio: Corinn Rutkoski is a PhD student at Michigan State University's Kellogg Biological Station, where she studies Prairie Strips (zones of native prairie in farm fields) and how they can be used to improve soil health. She is also the artist behind the weekly chalkboard drawings for @KBSchalkboard on Twitter!


Artist: Autumn Von Plinsky

Bio: Autumn Von Plinsky is an illustrator and graphic designer from Augusta, GA and working out of her new home in Brooklyn, NY. With experience in design & illustration for places like the Phinizy Swamp Nature Park, Oak Spring Garden Foundation, and New York Botanical Garden, she loves illustrating all things birds, bugs, and plants, and using those illustrations to communicate with the public. While she currently works full time doing design and illustration for Biotech and Pharmaceutical companies, she still finds time for drawing all the cool plants & critters she can. Autumn's website is autumnvonplinsky.com.


Artist: Ariani Wartenberg

Illustration of a maple leaf and maple samara with the words "you spin me right round."

Bio: Ariani Wartenberg is a Berkeley-based scientist who studies how agriculture impacts ecosystems and livelihoods. She loves all things plant-related and dabbles in painting and illustration in her spare time. She has roots in Germany, Indonesia and France, and her work and art reflect a life-long fascination with unique beauty in people, plants, animals and natural landscapes around the world. Ariani shares her art on Instagram, @inairacw.

556 views0 comments
bottom of page