Ashley Kirk will gladly take your droopy, dried out, or nearly dead house plant off your hands. Part plant mom, part plant whisperer, Kirk is like a green-thumbed doctor bringing Easton houseplants back to health free of charge.
Her Easton home is filled with 52 houseplants creeping, climbing, and growing in a variety of pots.
“It’s like a jungle in here,” said Kirk.
Most of the plants are hers but five of them she rescued from Eastonites who could no longer care for them after she asked her Facebook friends if they had a plant in need of some TLC.
The idea to rescue Easton house plants started earlier this year when she got a call from her grandmother who had recently received a dying plant from Kirk’s aunt who could no longer take care of it. Her grandmother couldn’t either, so she gave it to Kirk to save.
“I wondered if other people around had this issue with not having the time or knowledge to take care of plants. If my aunt and grandma couldn’t, then I was sure other people could not as well,” said Kirk.
Oxygen-releasing houseplants can brighten up any room and are known to reduce stress. In fact, the demand for houseplants increased during the pandemic. According to a survey conducted by researchers at the University of California, Davis, people around the world turned to gardening during the pandemic to reduce stress.
But taking care of plants is sometimes more than some people bargain for. A 2020 study commissioned by Article, an online modern furniture company, found that millennials killed seven plants they brought home.
The plants Kirk rescued are lush and green now, but she is happy to save a plant and return it back to its owner.
Her favorite plant is the pothos, which started her passion for plants. When she began to care for it, it thrived like no other plant she owned.
“I have about nine different varieties of the pothos and they are actually very easy to care for,” Kirk said. Some of her pathos plants surround her home, where she offers private music lessons through her business, Musically Miss Kirk.
She said her music students love seeing the plants. They bring a sense of nature and warmth to her house, especially during the cold winter months.
Kirk’s advice for plant owners is to research the care a particular plant needs. That’s step one. The second step is to treat it like your pet.
“Plants are living things and they really absorb the energy around them. Give them love and affection each time you are watering or caring for them, and success will bloom,” she said.
