We had the good fortune of connecting with Al’ya Bushelle and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Al’ya, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process on the start of my business came from an experience that I had. I have a wide collection of houseplants, maybe over 100+ (I stopped counting). Some of them I’ve had for over 5 years and are rare species of plants. Over time you form a relationship with your plants because you put hours of effort every week into making sure they stay healthy. You also spend a lot of time viewing them and always remembering how nice they look by itself, in that room, hanging from the ceiling, or on that table. In return they grow a new leaf and it’s a good feeling. At the end of my sophomore year from Spelman, I was accepted into an internship as a Horticulture Intern at the Mt. Cuba Center Botanical Garden in Delaware. I was going to be there living on their garden property in a small bedroom with a roommate for 3 months. My personal things on top of my plant collection cannot fit inside of my Toyota Corolla. I was on the verge of having to sacrifice my plants for my internship. I was so desperate to keep them alive I decided to create an indoor irrigation system with a Wi-Fi controlled water pump. I was watering my plants once a week from Delaware from an app on my phone. It was a wild, but genius move, but I hated that I had to do it. I wasn’t even sure that it would work, and it took me about two days to put it together. I wish I could have been able to call someone and simply ask them to stop by once a week for the next 3 months to water my plants. It’s asking someone to take on a lot of responsibility and that’s if you have someone. It’s the reason why while I was in the Air Force I didn’t have any plants. During that summer I was proud of myself for putting my irrigation system together, but I also thought about how difficult that felt for me. If it’s difficult for me, it’s also difficult for other plant people as well. Going out of town longer than a week comes at a risk. Why should it? I felt maybe I can help someone. There is a large plant community here in Atlanta and it is great. I can provide help, convenience, and freedom. Everything Plant Company can give you a break and repot your giant Monstera plant for you. We can prune away all those yellow & brown leaves to make more room for the green. We can water your plants while you’re unable too or help a beginner choose the best plants for their space. My services are what makes my business special. Leaf cleaning? It’s not an easy job to wipe the dust off a 10-foot fiddle leaf fig. I also think about the aesthetic of having plants. The plants in your place of business that could use some care but you’re a little too busy lately. Then as we go through phases, our plants can sometimes reflect how we feel. Maybe someone would rather lay in bed and allow Everything Plant Company to stop by and use their complementary fertilizing during their watering service to keep our plants looking revitalized so we can feel revitalized as well. Anyone can be a plant parent and one thing you immediately learn is that sometimes you need help with your plants. I know how it feels, and because of it I like to make myself available to offer that.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My career interest is truly in plant biology, but horticulture has never disappointed and has always provided opportunities for me. I am a first generation American in my West Indian family. They were raised in Barbados in the 60s and poor which led them to be farmers and fishermen. Once my family moved to the United States, it became something that turned into a hobby. Or maybe something to remind them of home. I’ve grown up around houseplants and the biggest and only collector I knew as a child was my mother. She had a sunroom in our apartment in New York filled with plants. I would go into her sunroom and pretend to be Indiana Jones. She had a massive golden barrel cactus with long aggressive spikes on it. She always told me to stay away from it, but of course I didn’t listen. One day, I was so curious I decided to poke the cactus. I immediately screamed in pain and the tiny spikes ended up in my finger and it was unbearably painful. My mother ran into her sunroom and saw me crying with my finger next to the cactus, she immediately knew what I had done and said, “I told you to STAY AWAY from that cactus! That’s what you get, you don’t listen!”. I never forget that moment because that was the day I started to pay attention to how everything grew. I never thought to be on this path, but it officially started while I was in college. I started to notice I was really dedicated to caring for my collection. The pandemic hit and I had nothing else better to do but collect and practice. I was originally a Health Science major, but I wasn’t connecting to the curriculum nor my potential future working in health care. I was discouraged by an advisor when I wanted to switch majors. I realized I didn’t like her very much and because of that I realized I should trust myself and follow my gut. I switched my major and it turned out to be the one of the best decisions I have made in my life. Despite my decision, my niche with plants was still a rare interest at my school so I had to figure out where to go to further myself academically with my interest. Botanical Gardens were my first thought.

Horticulture is my first love, but plant biology is my interest. I aim to be involved in the science of plant conservation. Mt. Cuba center internship taught me eco-gardening management of native plants of the Piedmont region and French/colonial style gardening. The Atlanta Botanical Garden Horticulture department hired me and taught me everything else I needed to know about plants in other habitats and regions. Tropical plants became my favorite. The ABG Conservation and Research department also hired me to be a technician in the micropropagation and seed bank lab for the research they were conducting on the Schwalbea americana (American Chaffseed). After that experience, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I want to do both, but separately. Who says you can’t have everything? It was a huge transition in my life. My first career I joined straight out of high school was the military. My position was Air Force Security Forces, (i.e. Military Police) and being in the military was one of the biggest challenges of my life but I earned so much out of the experience. That sacrifice allowed me to go to college and gave me a second chance at starting over. I chose to use every resource I had to make sure I found pleasure in what I do for the rest of my life. I’ve been able to learn so much about plants through my own personal practice and at the institutions that accepted me into their programs to learn. I absolutely love working with plants because it feels natural to me and there is a great deal of satisfaction that comes with it. For a while I had clients, but it was here and there. I was a full-time student, working internships, running a business, and dealing with challenges with my personal health all at the same time. Multitasking made it exhausting, so I didn’t focus too hard or push my business out there at first because I needed balance. I gained so much out of it.

The lesson about my business is that everyone you service is not the same. When you provide an ‘in person service’ and not a ‘product’ it’s sort of a different situation. It feels more complex. You must be prepared to always take care of the needs of an individual. From start to the never ending ‘finish’ you must constantly evolve. You must know when you need help and try working in collaboration with other businesses. I’m able to provide my clients with a 25% discount on plants if they choose to shop at Pikes nursery during their in-store consultations. You must know when it’s time to upgrade your tools or techniques to provide a faster and more efficient service. You must keep yourself informed and recognize your clientele. I’m lucky to have a service that is different. There’s no one else in our community that offers what I do. My clients are sometimes beginners who need some help choosing plants for their space. I have clients who just enjoy the convenience of getting their plants taken care of for them. I have clients who want to take month long vacations and need someone to step in while they are away. I have had clients who had disasters occur in their home and need help managing their collections while they get their space together. Plants not only have emotional value to us, but they also hold monetary value. I’ve seen collections over $10,000+. There is absolutely no way you can allow something so valuable, monetary or not, go to waste. No judgement at all. Despite the differences of each situation, I relate to each one of my clients. We just want to keep our plants alive and sometimes we need the help. It’s why I’m here. I also hope I can be an influence on others to show that anyone can grow something and making them environmentally conscious. The act brings you closer to our environment. It shows you one-on-one what it looks like. It shows you that you can take care of our environment as well. This is a practice and the more you put into it, the more you will look around and notice that bush in the park has a pest. You will notice that plant in your office has a brown leaf, and it needs to get cut off, or seeing that patch of tulips on the sidewalk needs to be watered. You will notice the changes in the air you breathe and the movement of the sun. You don’t ask for that information, you don’t even research it. You just figure it out over time because controlling and understanding the elements helps you be a better plant parent. Eventually, that ends up how you see things and how you think. This is bigger than, “let me help you take care of your houseplants”. I want to provide guidance on your journey with your relationship with all plants, our earth.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting the area I’d take them to a concert, comedy show, candlelight concert, or frequency friday at the High Museum. I enjoy eating at Culinary Drop Out, Hob Knob in Atlantic Station, Two Urban Licks, or C&S Seafood. My interests is in outdoor activities so walking the beltline or relaxing at Piedmont Park.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to give a shout out to my partner Adrian. The moment it became an idea in my head I shared it with him, and he has always encouraged me. It’s the smile on his face waiting for me when I come home after servicing a client that reassured me every time that I was doing something good. I also appreciate all the mentorship and training I received during my internship at the Mt. Cuba Center Botanical Garden in Delaware. It was an amazing experience, and it was life changing. I learned so much about the history of the garden and met so many amazing people. They rooted me and made me realize how much opportunity and love is in the plant world. I learned so much about plant conservation, native plants, and more. I also want to shout out the Atlanta Botanical Garden for accepting me into their internships as well. I learned so much from ABG, they have such a large collection of plants and such professional and well knowledge staff that there is no question that you can ask them that can go unanswered. My technique and experience through these organizations has been 5 star and I’m so thankful for those individuals who I spent time with learning from. My plants and my client’s plants couldn’t look any better. I want to also shout out my good friends Audree Garrett and Adelle Rogers for the times they’ve taken time out of their busy lives to help me when my projects were big. Having them a part of my team when the projects needed more than two hands and when I needed second opinions of my work. I’d also like to thank my family and friends for their support and encouragements as well.

Website: https://Everythingplantco.com

Instagram: @Everythingplantco

Facebook: Everything Plant Company

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/everything-plant-company-atlanta?uid=qLiRZi9DrhxddwMx5Lbxxg&utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Image Credits
All photos were taken by me
– me on top of toyota corolla with company car logo
– A photo of a client’s Philodendron billietiae after getting a leaf clean and leaf shine with our microfiber gloves.
– A photo of a client’s Fiddle Leaf Fig tree that is thriving in her sunroom
– An overall photo of my client’s sunroom and some of the plants she chose that are under my weekly care.
– My Staff (Audree Garrett)
– My Staff (Adelle Rogers)
– The delivery/order of plants I managed for my client during our in-store consultation at Pike’s Nursery.
– A fresh new Monstera Deliciosa leaf that I grew for my client.

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