No book is ever done in isolation, and How to Make a Plant Love You is no exception. A big thank-you goes out to Tony Gardner, my dear friend and literary agent; you not only go to bat for me every time, but you also always take precious time out of your day to lend an ear when I need to talk. “All a part of the service,” you say, but you know you always go above and beyond. Working with you alone makes me want to write more books!
To my fellow author Starre Vartan, who was there to help early on. Oftentimes an author can get too into her own work, so I am forever grateful that you took the time to serve as both a sounding board and a critical eye. A big high five to illustrator Mark Conlan. I reached out years ago because I loved your work and am so grateful you chose to illustrate my book (and the Houseplant Masterclass) with me. Your creative talents provide so much energy to the pages!
A wholehearted thank-you to Sander van Dijk—partner, creative counterpart, and friend. You have put up with a lot of plant talk—and facilitate my passion in so many ways! Your kindness, generosity, and support over the years have been boundless and I will forever be indebted. To Damon Horowitz, who had encouraged me to start Homestead Brooklyn from the start—this book probably wouldn’t have ever materialized if it weren’t for your initial suggestion. And to my other best friend and creative counterpart, Joey L., who has become like family in this big city that we call home.
To the Optimism Team: Friend and compatriot Simon Sinek, who would have thought a chance meeting in a taxi cab line would transpire into friendship and working together?! You have been nothing but supportive through the entire time we’ve known one another. Thank you for not only believing in me—but also bringing this book concept to life under your imprint. And to the rest of the team: My editor Leah Trouwborst, who encouraged me to think bigger and do better with the book—and yet was incredibly open-minded to all of my suggestions. Toni Sciarra Poynter: I am forever grateful that you decided to come on board. You took the time to listen to my thoughts and were able to help synthesize some of the most sensitive and salient aspects to help shape the book into what it is today. And Adrian Zackheim, Helen Healey, Christopher Sergio, Madeline Montgomery, Marisol Salaman, Tara Gilbride, Olivia Peluso, Jean Hartig, Sally Knapp, Meredith Clark, Gabriel Levinson, the Start with Why crew, and anyone else whom I have yet to meet or may have left out: thank you!
Special gratitude goes out to all the people whom I interviewed for this book, including those who didn’t inevitably make it into the book. Some of those include: Peter Fraissinet, William L. Crepet, Anna Stalter, Lawrence McCrea, Chad Husby, Chad Davis, Munther Younes, Bruce Bugbee, Richard Lenat, Steve Rosenbaum, and Bob Hoffbauer. And to my professors and mentors over the years: Ernie Keller, Chet Kowalsky, the late Tom Eisner, Barbara Bedford, Ellen Harrison, Tom Gavin, Bobbi Peckarsky, Allan Schwarz, Wade Davis, Martin von Hildebrand, and many others. And a big bout of gratitude goes out to all of the people from all around the world who were open and vulnerable enough to share their precious personal stories with me for this book. I hope you see the value that you’ve brought—not only to the text, but also to others who read How to Make a Plant Love You.
To my readers or listeners (in the case of the audiobook): thank you for supporting what I’ve written. I hope it provides you much joy and inspiration; and I invite you to learn more about the beautiful world of plants through my other channels, on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and my websites homesteadbrooklyn.com and houseplantmasterclass.com.
And last and certainly not the least, to my family: my parents, Bob and Diane; my grandparents, Smittie and Lil; and my brother, Travis. Thanks for celebrating my weirdness.