The Powerful Design Impact of Plants with Hilton Carter

Hilton Carter is a very busy guy, he’s a stylist and matchmaker between plants, people, and their homes and he also owns a plant shop. He is constantly in the media as a plant expert and he’s just written his 4th book in as many years. If you’re new to plant care, go back and look through his other books. But if you’re ready to take your plants to the next level and really think of them as dynamic design elements, his latest book is for you. Today we talk about the impact your choice of pot or planter can have, as well as what you’re pairing the plant with and what it’s sitting on, all with an eye toward design, you can also visit the episode show notes pages to see wonderful pictures of Hilton work. Here’s Hilton.

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Transcript

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Hello, this is the Style Matters Podcast brought to you by Little Yellow Couch. I'm Sandra, your host, creator of the Slow Style Approach to Uncovering and Implementing your Signature Style, one that represents who you are and actively helps you become who you want to be. This show isn't about hacking the latest trends or coming up with design rules you aren't allowed to break. Instead, my aim is to talk with the most thoughtful designers about their process of creating beauty, how they make their choices and what makes a room really work, and about the substantive reasons about why developing one style or aesthetic really matters. If you're ready to make your home a meaningful place to be, you are in the right place. I'm so glad you're here. Hilton Carter is a very busy guy. He's a stylist and matchmaker between plants, people in their homes. He owns a plant shop. He is constantly in the media as a plant expert and he's just written his fourth book in his many years. If you're new to plant care, go back and look through his other books. In fact, we've had him on the show before, so go back and listen to that episode. That was for book number one. But if you're ready to take your plants to the next level and really think of them as dynamic design elements, his latest book is for you. Today we talk about the impact your choice of pot or planter can have, as well as what you're pairing the plant with and what's it's sitting on, all with an eye toward design. The name of the book is Living Wild, how to plant style your home and cultivate happiness. Here's Hilton. Hilton Carter, welcome back to the Style Matters podcast. Thank you for having me. It's great to be back. Great. Listen, the first time I interviewed you was four books ago. That's a long time. Yeah, yeah. I mean, and a lot has happened in your life since then. So I want to do a quick refresher on how it all started, even though I asked you about that several years ago, but remind us when did you become obsessed about plants and how did you learn to care for them? And then how are you handling the fact that I see you everywhere? I mean, you are, you know, you like the plant doctor for apartment therapy. You've got a line out of target. If this is your fourth book, I mean, you're a superstar. Oh, man, well, I appreciate that. I don't feel like a superstar. I don't know if I would even enjoy the idea of being a superstar, but I do love the space that I'm in and the individual who I get to meet and talk to in this particular space. So it's been wild for this. I've not been using it a lot, but it's been a while right over the past four years. I guess it's I spoke to you because I'm guessing it was in 19, if it was right before, I think it's right before my first book. I came out right after. Exactly. So just to give you a for those who didn't hear the first, I guess episode that I was on with you. I'll link to it in the description on the page, but yeah, go ahead. Perfect. Yeah, it all started for me when it comes to plant styling. And really, I guess my love for interior style styling as well as just like the moment where I found myself in an apartment living in Los Angeles that needed some sort of identity. While I had my own identity, I thought, why doesn't my space speak to who I am? Yeah. So at that moment, it's probably like 2010. I'll say I started really focusing on that. I'd also just turned 30. So I thought, you know, it's time to put things up again. Exactly. Right. No more college posters hanging on the wall. Yeah. There it is. There it is. So yeah, I started focusing on the, I guess the core, the pieces that I was bringing in and seeing them as things that maybe could travel with me instead of just leaving them behind every time I moved from space to space. And in 2011, I went to one of the best plant shop design spaces there is. Still, I was saying today is terrain. They have many locations now, but the one that I think is probably the first one was the one in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. Oh, yes. I have been to that one. Yes. I know what you mean. The one in Steyer's, I believe is what they call it. I've been there, I've been in that area. Glen Mills was a venue for some work and just happened to be staying in a hotel near that location. And some residents who I was filming, I was working on a commercial shoot, told me that that particular space was something that me and the rest of the crew had to check out. And we went in there and I was blown away. I was literally taking a back and thought that why haven't I brought plants into my life? Because there was plants everywhere. I just thought this overwhelming feeling of just like being transported to this tropical destination that I guess at 30, I still hadn't really reached my own life. I've been to all these other places, but I just never go into something. It's a tropical place. Yeah, yeah. Glen, just real quick for people who don't know. So Terin is a very plant forward design home design kind of store. It's an offshoot of anthropology. And they really make the plants the focus of decor, design, et cetera, et cetera. So anyway, keep going. For sure. Yes. So yes, I walked away from there thinking, you know, when the next time I went I have, because I didn't come in this department, I had the time, I still didn't have a lot of light. I thought when I have enough light and some more disposable income because that's I weren't that affordable. I thought, you know what, I'll start bringing plants in. In 2014, I moved to New Orleans from Los Angeles, moved to New Orleans and moved into a space that had wonderful light, big, big windows, Florida ceiling, all size of the home. And I just started from there and I purchased a little e-fix. I wanted a tree. I just start this off with a tree. Yeah. And about this. Is that Frank? That is Frank. That is Frank. Frank is the genesis of all of this. Well, you need to use my, yeah, he's my first board. Yeah, he's the first board. It is huge, right? I mean, he must be huge right now. Yeah, he's huge. He's very, he's big. And you know, as all of the things do, he's always a working progress, always shifting and changing his style. He's now instead of being in the 15 foot ceilings that we had in my last apartment. Now he's in 10 foot ceilings and moving along the walls as, you know, as he should. But yeah, I mean, that was it. That's how it all started for me as far as like my passion and love for bringing plants in and that one plant grew to about 50 to 100, etc. And then do you even know how many you have at this point? No, honestly, not at this point because I now actually own a greenhouse or a rented greenhouse and I actually own a plant shop. Right, right, right. That's one of the many things you've done in the past four years. Yes. Yes. Very true. Yeah. So yeah, so that's how it all started as far as me wanting to bring plants in. And then over time, it just became a thing, obviously, in social media, I wanted to have a side hustle and interior design and helping people in their homes decide where perfect pieces should go and how the space should look. And that also included plants. And I just happen to know a lot of individuals who really gravitated towards how I styled plants and that became a big part of my business and it took over. And that's where I am today. So and I think it's only grown. I think that our interest culturally in plants, you know, you were sort of on the cutting edge of that, of bringing them in, you know, and then it's really blossomed in, you know, the pandemic happened. And so then we all wanted to bring nature in and, you know, it just, it's just, it's only grown. And so, of course, plants are so good for us. And so I'm, I'm very happy to see this big interest in it and I know you are too. And I want to just say that your last three books were really, really great for helping teaching us how to care for plants. And, you know, trying to mystify it a little bit, it can be very intimidating. So those books were really great guides for that. But I think this book is kind of asking us to take the next step beyond good plant parenting and really start seeing plants as this indispensable design element. And was that your intention for the book to really get us to kind of take the next step beyond just buying plants and caring for them? Well, I wouldn't say for everyone, but let's see if someone like yourself, if you're someone who hasn't read the first three books, someone who feels well versed in the care of plants and can, can understand that it's all about getting the things that are going to make sure that that plant can thrive in your home, right first, before you can have fun with styling. And yes, that's what this book is. So I kind of mentioned that really in a book like, hey, look, if you're still kind of figuring out how to care for a particular plant or you're having issues with care, then maybe this isn't the book for you. That's right. At the very moment, like this is for those who are ready to have some fun, honestly, ready to get a bit creative and stylish and not just show plants into corners or next to windows at their home, but kind of have the opportunity to start thinking stylistically about how plants can transform their space and add color and shape and dimension and just really do a lot of the work that we see other bits of decor maybe doing, but something that, as I mentioned about Frank, is always growing and changing that can really then add to the, I think, to our own happiness and wealth, right? So yeah. It's the only design element that is going to change over time, right? It's not starting to live in. It's so exciting. It's so exciting. It's so exciting. It's the only bit of the core, I guess you called it at that point where I'm talking about the core. It's like the core that you have to really care for, right? Like really spend time with and think about, you know, so it's important to know those things. Right. Nothing makes me happier when, you know, one of my aloe plants or, you know, some kind of cactus in particular, like sends out a chute and then there's like a little baby one that's come. I mean, they're so incredible to watch and they're so surprising, especially when something blooms and you didn't even know it was a blooming plant because I am still very much in the trial and error stage. I appreciate you thinking of me as a well-versed plant person, but I'm still learning and I'm still failing. We're all still learning. We're all still learning. We're all still learning. We're all still failing. You know, like, we're all still learning and failing, but that's, but it's the individuals who put the effort into understanding that, look, I feel, I'm failing at this particular thing. I'm not going to continue to just sit here and fail and let the plant suffer and die. I'm going to take the initiative and start to pay attention to what the plant is telling and try to reverse whatever the thing is that I'm going wrong. You know, I think that, like, again, like those are the things that are the true tangible benefits of plants that help us beyond plant care. They teach us pet care. They teach us people care. They teach us self care, they say, right? So understanding that you're not going to, you're not going to be able to keep a plant that you just purchased from a plant shop looking exactly how it does at that first moment. It's not going to stay that way when you're bringing it to your home. That's just not going to be the case, but as it develops and changes, whether that's the a leaf that has a, I'm sorry, it plant that has 10 leaves that now has six leaves that now is your plant that you have to work with and they will develop and grow new foliage. If you want to see that take shape, you've got to put the work into do so, but just because it starts to lose a few leaves, it does not a, it's not direct sign that you are the one not putting the work in at this moment. It could, you know, those changes that happen. So I feel like when it comes to design aspect of it and bringing plants in, it's knowing that you, if you want a particular look and you're trying to see a particular look and a particular part of your home, like if you're going to start putting plants on the middle of your dining table as a nice little centerpiece, it would be beneficial for you to choose the right plant that can live and thrive in that space. So you're going to be buying plant after plant after plants and seeing plant suffer and, you know, like it's, it's a good idea to, to kind of think about the thing and I hope people do this, but think about them as living things so that you are putting your, I guess, your best foot forward and putting the best light. Yeah, we're going to get into light because that's a big one, but yes, and I think just, they're so rewarding when you, when you tweak something, you know, you tweak how much you're watering it or you move it to a different window or, and it responds. It's so gratifying. It's like, oh, I got it. I figured you out, you know, that's what you needed. Yeah. Yeah. I have two more questions on plant care before we move into the design aspect of the book and, and there is a lot to this book in terms of design. It's really eye opening and very inspirational. I have a book in the first and I have a bone to pick why on earth are pots and planners not created with drainage holes? And what can we do about it? Oh my gosh. I love, I love what can we do about it? We can store them in the castle. Yes, yes, I'm going to round up all of the pot designers and beat them over the head with a wet newspaper until they start putting holes in their pots. Oh, that's good. Yeah. I mean, what the heck? Yeah. I mean, it's the joke that you do. And by the way, I'm going to say, it's funny. You just touched on a plant right that I was currently working on. Oh, a plant right? Yeah, I love how. These are all, what you're doing right now is ranting to me about, uh, people, uh, designers not putting, uh, holes in their pots for drainage. So yeah, I don't think it's a, it's a thing that could, that should stop people from purchasing plant. I believe. Yeah. I mean, look, I believe that all, I believe that it is great to have a plant that has a drainage hole and then I'm going to put that big if, if you are the, if you're going to make the decision at some point to pot the plant in that planter. Now, as to taking the plant and it's nursery pot and placed it inside of that pot, and I will say design when it comes to the book when I talk about, um, styling a plant in your home, there's ways. If you're, if you're trying to, um, let's say have a certain look, uh, gone for you and you have this amazing planter that doesn't have drainage, yeah, you use that planter. But make sure that you're putting planters in it, plants in it that are in that, that the nursery pot skins just sit inside of that planter. And when it's time to water it, you take the plant fully out of that pot, maybe water that the sink, water the shower, water it outside, let it drain out and then put it back in that pot. Like that, for me, that's awesome because all they're talking about is drainage, right? We're trying to make sure we're drainage. And there's so many ways to then hide a nursery pot below, um, a pot that doesn't have drainage, right? Right, right. Like, I think they're surrounded or pebbles. Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. I don't have that big of a beef with indigo designers that are making planters without drainage because I will say there are plenty of times where I would like to see a clean bottom of a planter, touch the surface of the floor. So there's a kind of a full surface on the table. Yeah. So I will also say in the last situations like that, what I tend to do is I will place one of those plastic base trays, some people will put on their floor and then put a plan on top of it. I will place some of those inside of those planters that don't have drainage holes and then put my plant in the nursery pot on top of that. And then water it, yeah. See when the water goes out to the drainage into the base tray and then done with the water in there. So, uh, Oh, good idea. You know, I'm saying the way is the work of other that aren't so you don't have to storm the castle burn everything that I'm going to do. I'm totally there with you. I want, I want people to, uh, I want designers to start thinking about that when they're thinking about style. I also think about function. Absolutely. Especially for the life of the plant. Exactly. So when I did my collection with Target, that was the first thing I, I missed when I was like, it's a half to have drainage. Of course. And if it had, and if it had drainage, it's a lot of time. And if it has drainage, I still want, I still want there to be a possibility for someone to decide, well, I don't want it to drain on top of the surface. I'll put maybe a base tray in there, like, help and send. So always supply that drainage or have a plug that can plug up that drainage. So there's someone can decide to keep in or decide to remove. Right. Right. Of course you did that. Of course, that's how you designed it. Before we continue with the conversation, I want to introduce you to my slow style approach to creating a home you love. Slow style is a step by step framework that puts you at the front and center of your home rather than products, trends, and other people's ideas of what beauty looks like. To get started, I've created a new worksheet called Dream Home Action Plan. And it's all about adjusting your mindset about what you really want from your home and what you want to experience inside it. Because I believe everyone deserves to live inside beauty right now. Not someday when you can afford all the bells and whistles that you see on lifestyles of the rich and famous. I'm dating myself. Does anyone remember that show? Anyway, this worksheet is the first step to reframing what you want to get out of life and how your home can help you achieve that. It's free and it's available on our website, littleyellowcouch.com. Just click on the yellow button right at the top called Free Guide. And then I'll jump in your inbox and we can start a conversation about your Dream Home. Again, that's littleyellowcouch.com. Okay, let's get back to the episode. And I'm guessing that I'm guessing in your shop, which I do want to talk about, your shop you probably stock both right because there are some fantastic planters that just don't have drainage holes. What's sure again, like I said, when your plant is designed for shop, you are thinking about those who are understanding design itself and also understanding plant care. So it's difficult to have a plant shop across the board. I'm sure most owners of plant shops, people who work at plant shops have this issue. It's that you have no control over who's coming into the furniture plants and you have no idea what their care level is. So we have employees, all of the people who work for us, they are well versed in understanding what type of plants can do well in people's homes and individuals homes, guide them for what are best for them. And so at least leave them with the information that will set them up for success once they get that plant to its destination. And that's a great point. That's a good plug for going to independently on plant shops because typically the people who work there are also knowledgeable, they're not just reading a label off of the little tag. Very true. So you give them the information that you can at that point. I mean, after they walk out, when the shop is going to be up to them to then understand and oh, this plant, this plant should have a drainage, there are things that I need to do to make sure this plant can still thrive in this pot that doesn't have drainage. Right. Right. Okay. So that's what I'm going to do and it's also a little bit of a plant rant. What exactly does the tag mean when it says bright indirect light because I think that almost every single tag says that and I have one of those plant apps. Yeah, I have one of those plant apps and I'd love to know whether or not you like those, but it's a plant app and you know, you kind of you hold your camera and it says move to a brighter space. And of course, I know I'm trying to force things because I want plants everywhere and I do not have great light. So I, you know, I'm always looking for great low light tolerant plants, but indirect light. I mean, here, I'm sitting in a window. It's getting light. Like why is that still too dark? I mean, anytime I do a plant care video, the one thing I say is give it bright indirect light unless it's like the best type of light for most plants will be bright and direct light across the board. Yeah, bright and direct light. So that's always good to those label say those first plant apps go, I can't really tell you if I like them more. I don't like them because I never use them. Hello. I know folks that have that have to have them and enjoy them. I know individuals who have used them and don't like the ones that they've used and then they've gone to another one and they like that one time. Yeah. So I will say that it's to me, I think whatever is going to help you do better for your plant, go for it. Right. It's a technology helps great. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. So I say go for it. But if you're, if you're asking me about bright and direct light, I will say the reason why I said that every label is because the one thing we all want, the one thing all your plants want is their natural habitat. None of these plants want to be in our home. Please bring me into your house. They all from the P out. Oh, they want to be in their environment. They want all the humidity. They want all the life that they enjoy, right? And it's understanding that. So if you think if, and what I try to tell individuals when I'm in a sort of workshops or my book tour is to say, the thing is to first try to understand that you got to mimic their natural environment in your home. Yeah. In any way possible. Let's move on to design because that is what this book is about. And we're going to change this podcast to light matters. Like Jack, or as he, oh my gosh, yes. And I mean, you talk about that throughout all of your books, but you still bring it up in this one too. And the importance of it and really getting it right and which kind of light typically comes in depending on how the windows are facing and all that stuff. But really, if you can get the watering down and you can get the light down, that's pretty good. And then you can start playing with soil and stuff like that. Definitely. Yeah. Okay. So to the design, I want to jump to the whole section on 10. I think it's 10. What you call designer plants to really help understand this concept of seeing plants, the way a designer might see the shape of furniture, patterns on a wallpaper, you know, the texture of a rug, all of those design things, they are also true about plants. And of course, then what you pair them with the planters and this section is so beautiful and brilliant because you side by side, you show a picture of a plant and then you show a picture of some sort of object or piece of furniture that it, that it, well, it's not mimicking probably the object is mimicking the plant. But yeah, I mean, they really relate to one another. And I'm wondering if, you know, we're going to link to this on our show notes page and we'll have a lot of photos and everything there, but because this is an audio podcast, can you just describe maybe one or two of your favorite sort of combinations that you've created between the plant and the furniture or the setting? Oh, yeah, for sure. For sure. For sure. For sure. For sure. Yeah. Do you want me to give you my favorites? Do you want me to give you my favorites? Yeah. You know what? Let me care your favorite. Okay. I don't have the book. I have the book. I have the book in the front of my brain every single day. But as far as like in front of me, it's not funny. But I know, I know some of them that, because they're, I mean, they're trying to make me pick like, like those are the 10 out of the 50. I was like, let's do a whole book of 50 of these. They were like, no way. Right. So I already heard you. I can't. I can't. So, you know what? I will say this. The mustar alko is definitely one I'll mention. And across the board, I want everyone to know that this isn't a plant that everyone's going to have in their homes and probably shouldn't have in their homes. They're way too expensive at this moment in time to even test out. Yeah. But if you have the means, I talked about this earlier, but if you have the means to go by one, do it. I mean, they are stunning. I mean, I think it's probably my favorite. It's stunning. It's. It's. It's. If you guys know what a monster is, it's those, they became very popular. They're they're huge leaves, but the leaves have like interior holes in them, but this one is variegated and it's got white against this dark green in these funky patterns. Like there's no rhyme or reason to it. And it's it's gorgeous and you've paired it with marble, of course. Yeah. Because all of the variegation in the in the monster or most variegated plants is marbled, right? So it has this. It has the same unpredictability when it comes to the pattern as marble does. It has those. Some of the car. I like to call them like veins. Yeah. It's a work, it's way through it, but it feels so connected to that material. That's so that it is the perfect. It's such a one when I see it, I see marble. I go, yeah, that look is marble. And for me, I think it's very cool to have that sort of look paired with maybe another marble accent that you have in that room, right? So that when you walk into a room, you know, like I mentioned, it's in a book is that when individuals, designers, anyone who's styling their homes and an effort to consider themselves are designed to do so. But you want to someone will go buy a throw pillow for their couch and the colors are choosing for those throw pillows are probably pulled from some other color that's accentuated somewhere else in the room. Right. Yeah. So it's the same thing we're talking about plants is like when you're trying to figure out what plant will go best in this in my north facing. Yeah. What plant will go best there? Well, it's a north facing window. So it gets the stuff so light. So now I'm going to narrow my window, my choices. Yeah. My choices down. I can use what can be do best in this like, but now I'm going to think after that point, now I got my options ready. Now I'm going to go, all right, well, I have this marble table. And the wooden A, the style elbow or a marble queen, partners or a, uh, Hoyah, Karnosa, which isn't more very, very gated in the marble sense, but very gated in the whites and fade, if anything, like to green, sort of look. But I feel like tying those things together is just like it's, it's art and design. And I don't want to, I don't want to cost them a, a botanist at that point, but you're pulling all these worlds together to make it, to make it feel right for your home, but very special for you. Yes. And that juxtaposition you talk about a lot throughout the book about when you're choosing, where to put it, like what's going to go next to it? Like let's, all right, let's just assume we've got the light. Correct. We've got the correct plan for the correct light that it's getting. But then this whole book is about taking a consideration. And what is the plant next to in terms of its inanimate surface objects? But what is it next to in terms of what other plants might it be next to? And then what is it sitting in? What is the plot or the plan to like and, and you know, you and I, I, I am this way to love juxtaposition, right? So I'm going to see something kind of spiky next to something round and soft or whatever. But this marble idea, you know, the marble of the leaf of the monster with the marble of like the table or let's say the pot that it's in, it still juxtaposition because you've got this hard stone surface, right? That's, that's cradling this, this living, breathing thing. So they share, they share a pattern, a visual pattern, but they don't share anything else, right? Their material is completely different. And I love that. And that is so this section that I'm talking about, these 10 plants that you highlight, you show us that for each one of them. And one of my favorites is the calythea setosa. This picture that you have in here is, first of all, it's so tall. I mean, it's just this glorious, these long stocks with these green and white striped leaves. And you talk about it next to a accorded chair, so a chair that is, you know, instead of like cushions, it's got cords on it. And you talk about that with some of these. I'm going to correct you there as far as the colors. It's like a dot green next to like a muted olives green per se. So it's showing a white there. I'm not too sure about that. No, you're right. It is. I was being way too basic. It's not really white. It's just this other color shade of green. And underneath it is this fabulous burgundy, which is like a whole other thing. But with several of these striped leaves, you talk about, you know, thinking about how they either contrast with or complement striped other things that are striped in your home. It could be a fluted pedestal. It could be a channel-toughbed sofa. It could be wallpaper. And it's, I think that's what makes this book so fun is that you were really, you know, bringing us to this whole other level of thinking of plants as design. Yeah, I mean, for me, it's for me. Well, for me, it is trying to, the book is about bringing you into my head. Yeah. You know, I understand like how I see it when it comes to plant styling and what works for me and how I connect the, like you said, the anatomy. Inanimate objects with the more organic shapes and forms that plants have in looking, looking for ways that not only just, you know, can brighten up a corner when, you know, you add a plant, which is what it does. But to fully give that plant a, almost not like a spot to become more than it is, but to see it as living art. And it's one of those things where I try to, I'm not sure if I'm right, but like remind, like, because I was like, it's all in jumps into this chapter of outreading the beginning of this. And they go, well, how do I care for it? Right. Right. I just want you to know that you have to understand how to care for it first. You can't, you got to have the right life for it first. You can't do any of these things. And you shouldn't, you shouldn't try to make a monster elbow that's $2,000, like you just mentioned, work, I'd opinion all the sizes, of course, they can be more expensive, they can be less expensive. But you shouldn't try to make that work and force it into a space just because you're like, I really have, I have this amazing room as all these marble accents. And I really want this plant to work. So it said it would. Yeah. Like I said, you got to do, you have to do that all of our first, but there's, there's, there's no room for, I got this really cool plant. I love it so much. And then you walk into a hardware store and just grab a tarot kind of pot for it and throw it in there. Right, right. That's, to me, the piece, the purpose of understanding, I don't know, touch on this style. Yeah. And then you can see it later, sort of, man, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, but like you are most, most individuals who care about design, because style matters, it's, you see it from top to bottom in fashion. People think about the top of my head to the bottom of my feet, how each piece is going to accentuate the other and juxtapose another or accentuate all these, everything. It's worked together, right? Yeah. Depending on what you're trying to say that day, that evening, that event, whatever it is, right? Right. Right. Absolutely. Like in your homes, you're thinking the same thing. You're thinking about the way the rug is going to interact with your, the couch and the fabric of your couch is going to interact with a particular fabric of the throat that you're going to put it with. Sure. Or how certain things that so it's just like when you think about plants, you know, or thinking about plants and that beyond the care, you're thinking about how to style them in your home. You want to make sure that you are connecting the texture, the shape, the future, because again, like everything else that you buy, that you're buying for your space to style it and design it with, you're at a coffee table. One thing you buy isn't going to be three feet longer than a sink in diameter, but then 10 weeks later, it'll be five feet in diameter. That's not going to happen. I'm assuming that. Right. But your plant, that could happen. Yeah. So you have to plant. You want to start planting out how that is going to look and what's going to transform over time in that space. And that's also another fun element of it. But I want, if people hadn't been thinking of this, I want everyone to start thinking how they can look at the color or let's say the shape of foliage. Yeah. You know, I want that shape or foliage to sit next to this particular piece of art, this particular piece of furniture, this particular part of my home, because it tells the story of what I'm trying to say about this room. Or it perfectly mimics the heart shape of the pillows that I have. Yeah. I really love it. Oh, you know, it's like, I want that sort of thought process. I want that to be, I guess they're journeys. I like to say journeys and greetings. Yeah. Yeah. Once they get a bit further down that path, I want them to start grabbing onto these ideas to really transform their spaces. I think that's just important. Yeah. And I really think that what you've done here in this book is very eye opening. I just don't think other people are talking about this so much. I think that there's not a lot of thought put into what the container looks like, let alone what is the plan going to be next to, you know, in terms of other plans or just by itself or whatever. And so it's very exciting. It's like this whole other world of design options are opened up to those of us who love design and love to play around and really think about, well, how this plant looks completely different in this pot than it does in that pot. And I want to choose the one that really shows the plant off and really makes it look as stunning as it is and as incredible as they are because they are living things that grow and shoot out, you know, stems and flowers and all kinds of other, and I'm going to expect to things. I tried to, in my mind, picture the room and kind of kind of cover up the plant either with my hand or just in my imagination and imagine the room without the plants. And you can immediately see why plants matter. Maybe we should call this episode why plants matter instead of why style matters. They are so dramatic. They change the feel of the room so much and I guess I just use that as a segue to my final question. Why does style matter and answer that however you want to? I think style matters because it tells the story of the individual individuals who are living in a space, working in a space, in that particular space, right? It allows there to be some sort of individuality that is put out into the world and to show one's true vision in some sort of way. I think when you think about style and what it, and what that looks like, there's a feeling that you get when you walk into a place that lacks it. And there is a lot of, I'll say for me, and I talk about this in a book, when a place lack style, it's clear that there is just no intention on anything. There is no clear rhyme or reason why pieces of pool together or colors are chosen. That's why style matters because it shows your true self. Oh, Hilton, you're such a pleasure to talk with and the book is really, really inspiring and at the very least, even if you're still at the beginning of your parenthood, just think about the pot that you're putting it in, what it looks like, what its structure is it ribbed, is it painted, is it whatever? And then, it's almost like an outfit. Take the pot, take the nursery, the plastic nursery pot, and then hold it up to different planters in the store and go, I guess it really does matter, which one I pick. It sure does. I mean, there's sometimes where a planter is the real, I would say, art and plant you put in it needs to be something that is not going to take away or hide the planter. Sometimes they can compete for attention and you guys think about it. That's true. Whenever I have, it's my last tip, but whenever I have a planter that is perfect, just beautiful, that it's just like a work of art in itself, I always plant in it, that is an upright plant, either a tree-like plant that is going to be an upwards or like a snake plant. And then there where foliage isn't going to cast heat down the pot or hide the pot at all. Oh, that is great. And I'm thinking of one in particular, and I guess we'll end on this because we'll have to, you guys just have to go see the book, go get the book. But it's this incredible planter you have on your dining room table that, well, sometimes it's on your dining room table. It's like, I think it's a rubber plant. It goes straight up and down, but this planter, it looks like it's concrete, but it's kind of got this fold. It is concrete. It is. You know what I'm talking about? Yeah. It's stunning. The whole thing is so stunning that particular combination between that planter and that plant. I love that. Thank you. Yeah. Well, thank you. Thank you for coming on the show again. It's been a real delight and just appreciate all of your passion and your love for plants and teaching us how to care for them and style them. And try to appreciate you bringing me back. It's so much for spending time with me today. If you've gotten something out of this episode, please be so kind as to leave a review on Apple podcasts or wherever you're listening from, it really does help this show stay on the air. And also, don't forget to grab our free guide, the Dream Home Action Plan at littleyellowcouch.com. And also, that's where you can find the show notes pages for all of these episodes with photos and links to things that we've been talking about. Have a great week. Bye for now.