“Gardening is the greatest tonic and therapy a human being can have. Even if you have only a tiny piece of earth, you can create something beautiful…If we begin by respecting plants, it’s inevitable we’ll respect people.” — Audrey Hepburn

Maximillian Murphy, affectionately known by his social media handle “@plantdadmax”, started his personal plant journey during the novel coronavirus pandemic. However, his affinity for the garden seems to have been deeply embedded even before #quarantinelife. He explains, “I’ve always been a lover of all kinds of flora and fauna…From a young age, I always loved nature. I used to watch Animal Planet and Discovery Channel over the typical cartoons and children’s TV…I think these shows gave me a lot of respect for the natural world. Everything is so complex, from the blue whale to the tiniest weed growing in the cracks of concrete. They all interact with each other in incredible ways. Some of these systems we humans can’t even reproduce just yet, they are just that efficient.”

Plant Dad Love

Max started chronicling his garden adventures, like The Rock’s other garden lovers, on Instagram. He shares, “If I am to be completely honest, the beginning of “plantdadmax” had no real deep meaning to it…It started out as a way to share what I was doing during the pandemic with others who were close to me since we were not able to see each other…Even though at first there was no real meaning to the name, I think it has much more now. Each plant is to be cared for almost like a parent cares for a child. That isn’t exclusive to just plants you own, either. It encompasses all plants and all things which are in nature, including yourself. We have to care for them all so they can flourish and grow on their own. I hope to be able to spread that meaning to others, inspiring them to care for nature just a little bit more.”

The love of the A’s

Max’s personal growth in the realm of gardening is evidenced by his creativity which truly puts his plant passion on display for the world to see. Walking us through the annals of his development as a hobbyist horticulturalist Max shares, “I first started to grow vegetables and herbs such as tomatoes, peppers and different varieties of basil. From there, I went on to ornamental plants, falling in love with species that fall in the Arecaceae family. They are more commonly referred to as aroids or arums. These are your typical philodendrons, anthuriums and many other kinds of plants. Typically, these plants are grown for their foliage as opposed to their blooms…I encourage you to search: “Types of Philodendron” (my favourite) on the Internet and see what comes up. There are so many varieties…you should have at least one!”

Cultivating creativity

Proving that gardening is a wonderous sport, Max’s creativity, curiosity and prowess truly blossomed as he ventured further into the artistic and scientific aspects of his green thumb. Max enlightens, “I started to look at various alternative forms of plant keeping and I stumbled upon planted aquariums. I just loved how there is a perfect balance between the plants that grow in the aquarium and the fish that live there. There are also certain combinations that work well and ones that don’t. If you ever see a really beautiful planted tank — it’s absolutely breathtaking. If you are looking to get into it, it may seem a bit daunting at first, but the Internet, especially YouTube, is really a great resource.”

In 1970 Gilles Deleuze posited, “that which develops evolves”. Giving credence to Deleuze’s assertion, Max, having already developed his proficiency, naturally evolved. He chronicles, “Since these planted tanks can burn holes in your wallet quite quickly, I moved on to terrariums. These are (typically) glass vessels that plants are grown in. Historically, it was a way for plant collectors in temperate climates to grow tropical plants as the vessel will retain heat and humidity. Nowadays they are a fun, low-maintenance way to enjoy plants. These terrariums usually require minimal to no watering, making them easy for people who are tight on time. They can also be designed in various ways — almost like miniature landscaping. These terrariums are my main focus right now and I love being able to share them with other people, bringing just a little green into their homes!”

Max’s terrariums are pretty cool and would definitely be an enhancing hobby for any garden aficionado.

Grandma’s precious gift

With the soul of Alice Walker’s quote that “grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see — or like a sealed letter they could not plainly read”, Max’s grandmother, imparted a very special gift in not only his most favourite plant but also his love for plants.

Max confides, “One of my favourite plants is an orchid, Trichocentrum undulate. By no means is it the rarest or most expensive plant out there, nor is it a part of the usual aroid family, which I love. Yet it is without a doubt the most special to me. It was planted by my late grandmother on a poui tree more than 25 years ago. Unfortunately, she passed a few months before I was born so I was never able to meet her, but the plant is still there growing and flourishing. It puts out huge spikes of blooms that extend more than 6ft from the tree with dozens of flowers every year. That plant reminds me of her. She walked the same grounds that I do, caring for the plants that grow here in a similar way I do now. Everyone in my huge family always tells me how similar we are, sharing our love for plants among other things.”

He continues, “I share this sappy story to arrive at the point — plants and things in general can remind us of the past and help us to look to the future. They can allow people whom we have never met to share such strong bonds, reminding us of the past and where we come from. For the future, no plant is worried about when it will get watered next, it just trusts that it will.”

Check out @plantdadmax for your very own garden in a bottle.