Fanny Price, the heroine of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, was often so captivated by the splendour of nature, that she often found herself rhapsodising about the environment’s offerings. These sentiments are embodied by her often-quoted words, “to sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.”

Here on the Rock, today’s indoor garden heroine Fanny Chang is not only of a verdant ilk similar to that of Austen’s 1814 heroine but she has also made a positive impact on the local home and garden market through the diversification of much-needed product offerings for the trendy plant aficionado.

The thriving thumb

It started with a peace lily. Having been captivated by “the most beautiful” peace lily that she had ever seen, Fanny cultivated her green thumb at the advent of the pandemic. She explains, “I always knew I had a love for plants and nature itself but it was not until the rise of COVID-19, when I found myself stuck at home, unable to travel, did I find out exactly how much love I had for it. It became my refuge. One plant led to another and I soon figured out that everyone had the ability to have a green thumb. It takes time, patience, care and love, just as it does with any human being. In return, they reward you with love by giving you a new leaf or surprising you with a bloom. The fact that you can watch them thrive under your care is the most satisfying feeling in this world.

An education

In the vein of the saying “there are no gardening mistakes, only experiments”, Fanny’s proficiency was garnered in part from her first experience with the Monstera Deliciosa. She shares, “This specific plant challenged me in many ways…the fact that I was able to research, diagnose, fix the issues, and kept her alive and thriving to this day, made me feel like I could conquer the plant world…I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs and sometimes I don’t always get it right and that’s OK…with the right mindset, I get up and do it all over again. It has definitely been a fun learning experience for me.”

@Fannczyplants

Fanny’s online plant diary, @fannczyplants, was a natural progression in her plant journey. “I found myself going from having zero plants to more than 100 plants in a short period of time; specifically, house and potted plants. My love and interest began to grow more rapidly. With motivation from that, I decided to create an Instagram account…made specially to share the ups and downs of being a new plant parent and to document my new plant obsession, as some may call it. I paired the beauty of plants and their foliage with the elegance of home décor and have since received very positive feedback on my page. The fact that many of my viewers and followers enjoy the content that I post and share encourages me to continue doing so…I am in no way an expert, I am still learning and I love and welcome advice from other plant parents like myself…Social media has allowed me to make connections with other plant enthusiasts both locally and overseas. I believe that if used in the right way, social media can be a very beneficial tool. For me, it has allowed me to create lifelong friendships with people who I now consider a part of my plant family,” she says.

Ashley Variety Store

While it may be easy to identify a market need, it is commendable when one steps up to the commercial plate and satisfactorily meets market demand. Proving that the love of one’s pastime can positively impact and align with one’s commercial pursuits, Fanny gives us great inspiration. “As the number of plants grew in my home, so did my need to dress them up and make them pretty. However, I found it extremely difficult to find affordable accessories and pots for my plants locally. When I did, choices were limited and the prices were not very attractive. This in turn led me ordering from Amazon on a weekly basis. As you can imagine, this came with high shipping fees and duties, which was not the most ideal. That’s when the idea came to me. As the co-owner of Ashley Variety Store and someone who imports goods on a monthly basis, I decided it was time for me to source and import plant accessories and pots to sell locally at an affordable price…Ashley Variety Store now offers a variety of home and gardening goods to satisfy the obsession of plant parents like myself. In that sense, my plant journey has turned into a type of business…pots, plant stands, gardening tools…Joining the Jamaican plant community has allowed me to expand and take my current business to another level. This in turn gives me a great sense of satisfaction when I see that my customers are happy with their new finds and purchases.”

Serendipity

Leaving us on a high leafy note on this wonderful Sunday, Fanny has words of encouragement for the Rock’s plant fans. “To all new and up-and-coming plant parents or those who want to do it and are doubting themselves, I say, make the leap, take the chance…You will make mistakes, we all do; however, there’s a great community of plant lovers right here in Jamaica that will be more than willing to give any advice, insights, tricks and trades to help you make it work…it will all be worth it in the end. For me, at the end of a long stressful day at work, I get to go to a place that brings me peace and happiness; a place that is filled with beautiful plants that fills my heart with joy; a place where they calm me down, keep me sane and take my mind off the chaos that is the world today, in a time like this; a place I call home. You too, can have your own place of refuge; a serendipity in its own special kind of way.”