Growing up in the Pacific Northwest surrounded by vast forests and long stretches of puget sound beach environments, I became infatuated with nature at a young age. Epiphytes (i.e. plants or other organisms that grow harmlessly on plants) don’t just grow in tropical regions; our temperate forests are filled with them. Pacific Northwest old growth forests are known around the world for their epiphytic mosses, ferns, and lichens, which give trees a characteristic bearded look.
Although the rainy conditions in the Seattle area are great for plant diversity, they make it rather unpleasant to hang out outside too long. As a result, i’m drawn to bringing nature inside. While in school, the UW botany greenhouse provided a quiet, warm, tropical, epiphyte-filled escape in the heart of rainy Seattle. Urban epiphyte is about forming my own little naturalistic oasis indoors, with some of my favorite plants; epiphytes. I’ve always been fascinated with plants, but after earning a degree in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology, and then working in horticulture for about a year and a half, I decided to explore orchids (most of which are epiphytes) and try to de-mystify their cultural requirements. It turns out, once you understand what they need, many orchids are not all that difficult to grow.
I started my Plantstagram with the handle Urban Epiphyte in early 2018, with the intention of photographing and sharing my rapidly expanding collection of orchids and other plants. When presented with the opportunity to create a website around a personal brand for my digital marketing certificate program through the University of Washington, it only seemed fitting to highlight what has quickly become a full-fledged brand: Urban Epiphyte. I love sharing my passion for the natural world with people, and I love to teach what i know, so I jumped at the opportunity to launch this site as a blog.
My goal is to teach by sharing my experiences, experimenting with evidence-based solutions for the challenges I encounter. I am by no means an expert, but hope to document my journey through life (and plants) in an open and whole-hearted way.
Thanks so much for following along with my journey! I’m always open to answering questions; the best way to get ahold of me is to reach out on Instagram or shoot me an email.
Happy growing,
Andrew
