The Unlikely Gardener has known the Unusual Plant Lady, Sabrina Reynolds, for several years in her capacity as a unique handbag designer. It was not until recently, in a zealous quest to procure the elusive Jade Vine, that she was pleasantly surprised to find that the former banker and handbag designer was the owner of Unusual Creations Plants nestled on the corner of Lipscombe Avenue, Stony Hill. The property is home to thousands of bromeliads and succulents that The Unusual Plant Lady has propagated all by herself.

The plant lover’s evolution and female dynamism

It all started with dish gardens. Reynolds was a banker by day and dish gardener by night with her commercial banker colleagues as her built-in market. One order led to many more and the side hustle brought in well-appreciated extra cash. Like most creatives, the desk job got boring very quickly and thus Unusual Creations Plants was born and her plant passion fully ignited. She kicked off her business by selling house plants, but found it increasingly challenging to get customers to her home set-up.

Passing a locked-up container daily as she traversed Stony Hill Road she started to envision a storefront with good public visibility, and that it was. Shortly after, having outgrown her container store, she moved to a larger location where her plants reside today. Since the space was bigger, she started to grow and sell almost every house plant that she could, and was quite successful. However, a baby became a game-changer….

Although Reynolds had little experience with bromeliads and succulents, their resilience spoke for themselves. Having researched them, like many plant lovers, she immediately decided that she would take the plunge and shelve the house plant business. As with any start-up, to get her new plant species going it took careful execution and her piggy bank to get it galloping.

Fairly early on, the newly procured bromeliads and succulents sold out and Reynolds ended up on one hand with an empty nursery but on the other, a solid plan. Again, relying on her savings she took a trip overseas to a bromeliad farm and hand-picked her well-curated colourful stock. She used the same blueprint for her succulent stock and hand-picked each. Hot off the plane and having missed several pay cheques, she remembers standing inside the plant nursery with her supportive husband deeply wishing that one day the entire greenhouse would be filled with bromeliads despite her only having a handful at the time. Today, Sabrina needs a larger greenhouse. The takeaway: There’s no success without strife or as my granny and all Jamaican grannies worldwide still say: “if yuh want good yuh nose haffi run”.

This is why they’re hot

Bromeliads and succulents are deemed exotic plants by plant lovers and “lukewarmers” alike. Here’s why they’re the rave:

1. Unusual looking with interesting plant personalities;

2. Attractive and often colourful;

3. Easy care;

4. Do well both inside and outside;

5. Easy to multiply;

6. Very hardy, drought-tolerant and resilient

In Reynolds’s words: “Both of them do very well, stressed. They don’t need as much care as the typical house plant.” Interestingly, she observes that “you can have two identical plants and if you put one in the shade and one in full sun they will look like two different plants with different colouration”. As plant species, Reynolds finds it easy to make her customers not only feel happy but also to feel special as she strives to sell plants that can’t be found “at just any nursery but plants that make you feel special and unique”. Her customers, including myself, like to feel as if they are the only ones on the Rock who have a particular plant. It’s a joyous feeling.

Bromeliad facts and quick tips

1. Very important to have a good soil mix.

2. Bromeliads like bark; for example, coconut husk, rotted wood, etc

3. Bromeliads can survive without water for long periods because they store water in their cups.

4. Bromeliads are not susceptible to disease as are most plants, for example, white flies.

Succulent facts and quick tips

1. The soil mix is very important.

2. Potting mix for succulents should be half soil and half grit, for example stones or perlite.

3. Succulents require minimal watering because they store water in their leaves.

4. Water only when soil/potting mix is dry.

Although they have similar needs, unlike bromeliads, succulents do not appreciate excessive rain. They have no tolerance for generous watering and thus are susceptible to rotting leaves. If it rains too much and you do not have covering for the succulents, then one has to monitor them very closely and check for rotting leaves and prepare for the eventuality that the entire plant is rotting. Of course, Reynolds has a miracle for plant rot.

The Power of Cinnamon: If a part of the plant is rotting, then cinnamon powder (yes, from your kitchen) is the cure. After carefully removing the rotting part and washing the plant clean, sprinkle a little of the cinnamon on the rotting areas. This should stop the rot. Afterwards, leave the plant out for a few days to heal and then report it in fresh soil mix.

Reynolds’s Observations: “Succulents do well under stress and by stress, I mean do not water as much and lots of sun, this usually makes the colours intensify… I could not have chosen any better plant. In the beginning it was iffy as they were not this popular, but I believe with the many options that people are exposed to here, with plants being imported, they are being loved even more.”

Contact Sabrina Reynolds at 876- 783-9637