‘Plant Mom’ Transforms Her Tiny NYC Apartment Into a Magical Greenhouse for Over 200 Plants

On a typical morning, Alessia Resta (@apartmentbotanist) wakes up in her 750 square foot apartment in New York City. Glimmery beams of Sun filtering through her glass windows crash into the crystals scattered around her house, and bathe her mystical display cases, gem eggs, jewels, and more than 200 plant babies in iridescent patterns.

Inside the Sun Room, her sibyl black cats are still slouching lazily against the shelves. Resta walks towards a tabletop planter, touches the large, starry leaves of a Monstera Thai Constellation, and spells out an affirmation of love, recalling how, when she potted it for the first time, she spotted a lizard crawling in the soil. She named him Harry. Much like the love of a “plant mom,” a nickname fans have given to her, Resta embraces her plants as if they were her deepest feelings, each one a guest in her home.

Resta, the author of Plants Are My Favorite People, shares her green apartment with her boyfriend, two dogs, and hundreds of tropical and rare plants. She had always found her bliss in plants, but it wasn’t until she graduated from college that she decided to turn her hobby into a full-fledged business, as she revealed in conversation with Dr. Ian Smith, the host of Emmy award-winning daytime talk show The Doctors.

Every plant has a story

While her plant babies sit on her shelves and floors, Resta sits down to observe them. Each plant baby has a story, and it’s the purpose of her life to unfold it. She sees every plant as a unique character. Take Philodendron Ring of Fire, for example. In an interview with The Spruce, Resta shared that when she and her boyfriend brought home this plant for the first time, it was covered in mites. They feared that they were going to lose it. But it survived. After a laborious mending procedure, the plant finally burst towards the sky and hasn’t stopped growing ever since.

Rare plants, rare stories

The rarest plant in her lobby is a Begonia Darth Vader. Then, there is a cactus named Mammillaria Gracilis Fragilis. In one nook grins an enduring snake plant named Cheerio, a name she chose after the plant was delivered to her in a Cheerios box. Another plant, called Philodendron Patricia, cost her a king’s ransom, the most expensive she bought. When it came, it was tiny, but nowadays, it is towering over her ceiling. Not a bad bargain for $250.

Not all plants are easy growers, though. For instance, her Anthurium Crystallinum, a plant that throws the trickiest tantrums. But with a bounty of love mixed with damp sphagnum moss and close radius to the humidifier, Resta has successfully tamed this one, too, as she said in an Instagram post.

A ‘healing box’ for plant babies

Over the years, while she has been babysitting and caretaking for these plants, her observations have led her to design a “healing box,” which is sort of a homemade apothecary crafted for plants. Describing it to The Spruce, she shared that it’s a “plastic container that she uses to create a humid environment for any plants that may be struggling and need a little extra care.” Some days, she picks up a piece from her crystal trove and utilizes its healing energies to soothe and invigorate the spirits of her plants.

It’s not watering. It’s ‘self-care routine’

When Resta revealed that it takes her 2 to 3 hours each day to water all her plants, Doctor Smith staggered a step backwards, taken aback. But the “plant mom” believes that caring for them isn’t as strenuous as people think it is. On some days, it can seem like a drag, but mostly, it is the self-care routine that soothes and rejuvenates her spirit. For plants that she is growing inside a fish aquarium, she regularly replaces the water and uses a turkey baster and toothbrush for cleaning.

“I mean, watering does take a while, but it’s a little bit of a self-care routine because I have to find a way to answer to something: I have to be here to take care of my plants and make sure they’re okay, and I have to make sure I’m organized and scheduled so that I have time set aside for my plants,” Resta told The Slowdown. Each time a leaf unfurls or when there’s a pest-breakout crisis or when a velvety stem needs trimming, it’s a new adventure Resta will never miss stepping into.

You can follow Alessia Resta (@apartmentbotanist) on Instagram to catch glimpses of her plant varieties, crystals, and home.

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