Don’t call Hilton Carter a “Plantfluencer.” No stranger to indoor plant enthusiasts, the multi-hyphenate author recently dropped his latest of three collections for Target, is a regular television contributor, and has a soon-to-be-released show on the Magnolia Network. I think his over half-a-million Instagram followers will agree that he’s outgrown “Plantfluencer.” Let’s call him what he is now — a Renaissance Man.

On Friday, April 26, Bree Clarke, owner of The Plant Project, hosted a breezy, courtyard-chic event in honor of the plant stylist extraordinaire. Baltimore-based, Carter is currently on tour to promote the latest of his five books — The Propagation Handbook: A Guide to Propagating Houseplants — and it is delightful. Over 70 attendees enjoyed sips and bites from Fiora’s Bottle Shop while DJ Sage provided a backdrop of soothing music throughout the evening.

To describe Hilton Carter as “magnanimous” is an understatement. For over an hour, Carter strolled around the courtyard to better engage with the audience while sharing amusing and relatable insights into his trials and tribulations of being a successful “plant-parent.” Warmly recognizing multiple fans from his previous book tour, it’s no small wonder that his following is so strong.

The event took place at the Montrose location of Clarke’s store, The Plant Project, A Place Where Community and Plants Grow. It’s a beautifully curated plant shop that brings self-care, inclusion, and a love of plants together in a welcoming environment. Clarke opened her first Plant Project in Dallas during the fall of 2020. A Houston location soon followed in July 2021.

Clarke offers expert advice on plant selection and care, local pick-up and delivery, nationwide shipping, and a variety of hands-on and how-to workshops on everything from repotting and flower arranging to diversity and self-care. She also regularly hosts Plant Pop-Ups in the community and at area farmers markets.

That work earned Clarke Congressional recognition for The Plant Project as the First Black Woman Owned Plant Shop in Texas. Her inclusive lifestyle brand, The Iman Project, focuses on nourishing relationships and building a diverse community through style and design.

I sat with “plant besties” Clarke and Carter post-event to chat about what’s most important to them: “community, giving, and sharing.”

CultureMap: How did this partnership between the two of you come to be?
Both: Joanna [Gaines]!
Bree Clarke: It was at “Silobration” a few years ago. [Magnolia’s annual event in Waco, TX.]
Hilton Carter: She [Joanna] said ‘Hey, there is this girl selling plants in the street!’ I love plant people and decided to roll-up on whoever this person was going to be. I gave her a hug and that was it! For me, in those situations, it’s a kinship between plant lovers, in that sort of sense. Also, an understanding of individuals who look like me. In the space, trying to share that sort of love and support as well. If I was in that situation — there, selling plants — I’d want to see someone there who looks like me.
BC: In Dallas, I opened up the plant shop because you did not see a Black or Brown person at all. I wrote a blog on April 7, 2020, to focus on Black and Brown plant shops. I found “Plant Chica” in Los Angeles and a few others, no one in Texas — nobody in “our” neighborhood.

I like my sons’ being able to see something I wasn’t able to see as a little girl. When Hilton goes up there on The Today Show, it just shows it’s available and attainable for everyone — truly plant joy for everyone. You [Hilton] set the road for me, and now I’m allowed to set the road for other people like me — and that’s what it is.

CM: Do you feel you had an extra boundary as well because you’re a woman?
BC: I look at color more than I look at sex. It’s so important to see someone who looks like [me]. In 2020 everybody came out as a “plant influencer” or “plantfluencer” and all that jazz. A lot of it was trending and hopping on to a trend, “oh, this is cool, or whatnot.” What I’ve seen with Hilton, it’s something that’s innate. I grew up with plants, he grew up with plants — mine is design and plant love.

CM: You do a lot of workshops and plant education. Do you think of these as “safe space” workshops?
BC: I want to educate people more than that. I want people to get in tune with themselves: self-care, plant-care, all being one. Figuring out yourself, going through your seasons — plants are the same: we need to eat, we need water, light, love, to be talked to and whatnot. I teach that part of it — that’s what The Plant Project is. I go to Hilton for the plant education part of it. Taking care of plants is taking care of you.
HC: Plant-care is self-care.

CM: To touch on the new book, I love that it’s organized like a textbook. Was that intentional?
HC: It’s definitely a handbook; it’s formatted to be utilized. Some of my books are more “coffee table books” and are design heavy, leaning more towards pretty pictures and to help you in the process of caring for plants.

For the most part, I think this book, the ultimate goal is for it to be treated more like a book book. I want these books to become dirt and water stained because people are using them. It’s like a cookbook, you’re always going to come back to it. Something people are going to pull out often, which is the reason I wrote it like I did.
CM: I can see this living in the kitchen with the cookbooks for sure. That’s where most people tend to do their propagating.
HC: Yes! Keep it where your sharp shears are!

CM: You mentioned that you have a pilot coming up. Can we talk about that?
HC: You can! I don’t know when it’s coming out, but I can say to be on the lookout for it. It’s a good one. It’ll be on the Magnolia Network, Discovery+ and MAX.

The show is called “The Plant Stylist, with Hilton Carter.” NO! They changed it, it’s called “Planterior with Hilton Carter.”

BC: He hates being called a “Plantfluencer.”
CM: I’ve never heard that term, but I don’t like it either.
HC: It’s just…ugh.
BC: So many people call him that.
HC: Write “Hilton doesn’t like to be called a ‘plantfluencer,’ he actually hates it with a passion.”
CM: I can put that in the article.
HC: Thank you!
CM: “Not one to be mistaken for a ‘plantfluencer,’ Hilton Carter…”
HC: Great!
BC: I think people are recognizing you more now on the styling side.
HC: I would hope! But, yeah, I don’t know when it’s coming out, but soon.

CM: This is your fifth book, any plans for a sixth?
HC: I have a sixth book coming out.
PUBLICIST: Bree has a book coming out.
CM: Do you?!
BC: Yes. It’s called “The Plant Project.”
HC: What’s the release date?
BC: I don’t have a release date. I can’t really say anything except for the name and that it’ll be out in about 8-9 weeks.
CM: Can you give us a theme for the book?
BC: It’s about community, plants, and self-growth. The Iman Project and The Plant Project have always been about self-growth, workshops and creating a space for everyone — no matter your background, race, religion or style. I wanted to share plant growth with self-growth and have different things hand-in-hand while doing those. It’ll have workshops, DIY, not only plants, but flowers as well.
CM: Cut flowers?
BC: Yes, but flower bouquets and things.

CM: Speaking of bouquets: Hilton, in your new handbook, you have a section on propagating entire bouquets. It never occurred to me that plants can be propagated together — that’s really cool.
HC: Awesome! I think you should try it! The goal of the book is to spark some inspiration around not just propagation, but in ways you possibly haven’t done before.

Photo by Michelle Robertson

Bree Clarke and Hilton Carter addressed the crowd.

Run, don’t walk to get your copy of Hilton Carter’s The Propagation Handbook: A Guide to Propagating Houseplants.