The Green Revolution
Meet the plant collectors whose home gardens are social media-worthy showcases of stunning (and some eye-wateringly expensive) specimens
Monstera. Philodendron. Syngonium.
Not long ago, these words would be Greek to common language, but today they are codewords – cyphered passwords that are the secret language of plant devotees. Whispers of a new variety of Monstera – broad leaves with unique ‘leaf fenestrations’ that are thought to be an evolutionary mechanism to capture scattered sunflecks under a shady rainforest canopy – can send this group of adherents in a tizzy. Lovingly posed photos of the impressive Philodendron Pink Princess – startling in its abrupt rosiness – can attract the same scrutiny and admiration as a Monet or a Rothko.
Welcome to the world of plant collection in Malaysia. Once the bastion of a small dedicated population of plant lovers, the community has amplified in size since 2020, as lockdowns steered homebound individuals towards new hobbies.
Amplified by social media and assisted by the proliferation of online trading platforms, plant collection has been elevated to a fashionable trend. But more than just a collection of verdant pots to brighten up increasingly familiar four walls, there are those that delve deeper into this jungle, building up impressive collections of uncommon and even rare plants that fetch a cachet in the public domain. This can translate into the monetary, where sought-after varieties of specific plants can exchange hands for eye-watering sums. What drives this and how will this evolve?
Take the Philodendron Florida Beauty, for example. With ornate leaves, variegated varieties of this – which refers to leaves with differently coloured zones – are highly prized. That the diversity of colours within a single leaf is the result of mutations or defects from varying levels of chlorophyll is besides the point. They are beautiful. And beauty invites value. Amassing specimens like this can be the goal of a plant collector. Some do it for the joy, some do it for the chase, some do it for the attainment. There is value in that. The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew which houses one of the largest and most diverse botanical collections in the world started as the personal exotic garden of Henry Capell, the first Baron Capell of Tewkesbury in the 17th century.
The collections of these six Malaysian plant collectors are not yet of that stature, but one day they could. And therein lies the appeal, mythology and potential of plant collecting.