150 plants in a 500 sq. ft. condo: How Dorrington Reid finds joy bringing nature inside
Reid's daily photos of his plants and home have brought him — and his 35k followers — joy during the pandemic
10 years ago, Dorrington Reid had just moved into his very first apartment when he happened to walk by a local plant shop. Little did he know that buying one plant that day would set him on a lush, green journey to the 150 potted plants he currently cares for in his downtown Toronto home.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Reid's appreciation for his plants has deepened, and he dedicated his Instagram account to sharing daily photos of his plants and home with his 35,000+ followers. "I am inspired by the way they look in dappled sunlight, the way they look in partial shade, in different areas of my home," he says, "and that's what really inspires me to take the photos of them."
In this video by Rami Katz, step inside the forest of Reid's apartment, where the walls, shelves and pots are all white to make the green plants pop out in every photograph. "It helps to keep the attention on the actual plant, on the foliage, on the growth structure and it just creates a cleaner aesthetic for me. It's visually just more appealing."
Reid says that focusing on his plants during the pandemic has brought him so much joy and made him appreciate the small things in life.
"Taking care of a plant and nurturing it and watching it grow and thrive is such an amazing feeling," Reid says. "And being able to surround yourself with greenery that's lush and tropical — it's a great way of uplifting your spirit, especially living in a concrete jungle in downtown Toronto."
"It's amazing to bring that nature that you'd find outside inside at home and seeing how that affects you personally."
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
