The Latinx With Plants founder is getting to the root of community healing.
– KEYS SOULCARE
Latinx With Plants founder Andi Xoch’s mission is simple: educate, advocate, connect, and liberate — all while harnessing the transformative power of plants, naturally. Born in Mexico and raised in Eastside, L.A, Xoch credits a childhood “surrounded by lush, living things” among her most prized early memories. But after experiencing the redemptive power of plants while struggling to care for her ailing dad when she was older, Xoch felt compelled to extend her own healing to those around her. The result? A blooming and growing community of plant lovers, nurturers, and healers seeking refuge in their newfound green thumbs.
We chatted with Xoch to get her take on the power of plant parenting and connecting back to earth — even if that means from the comfort of our living rooms.
How has your personal journey with plants inspired your work?
I tend to go back to my childhood: being outdoors with my family and just being at peace and feeling like I belonged.
Fast-forward to my taking a four-month, cross-country bike tour full of everyday adventures, returning to [my] basement apartment, and just feeling depressed. I started collecting plants because I remembered those were the things that were making me happy on the bike tour… but they were dying on me. I had to reassess why, and it was the same reason why I was feeling depressed and down: I wasn’t giving myself enough light, I wasn’t giving myself air, I wasn’t going outdoors and being in the place that makes me mentally and physically happy.
So, that was a major connection. I kept collecting my plants, and then, one day, my dad got really, really ill. None of my siblings or family members are in the [financial] position to help, so I took it upon myself to put what I’ve learned [about] organizing the community and being an artist into practice. I figured out how I could help my father and raise funds for him [through selling plants]. I had become dear friends with nursery owners, and when I told him what I wanted to do, they were 100 percent supportive.
And how did that evolve into the business you still run today?
I got my first batch of plants during the first season of COVID-19. They were raggedy plants, but I fixed them up. I styled them, I put them up on my Instagram and that’s kind of how my business started — from my house, to my front yard, to my garage, to my brick-and-mortar [storefront] within four months. The Instagram page came way before that [in] spring of 2019, though, just as a way to highlight my community in this up-and-coming plant world. I realized that once again, we were being overseen; that it was my duty to make space and create [a] platform for folks that had connections with plants, not just for aesthetic reasons.
Can you share more about the community drive behind your mission?
I live in the hood in Boyle Heights. It’s a predominantly low-income community that is mostly Latinx, brown folks. I see a lot of young women coming in here that are straight up like, “I have only this amount of money. What can I get?”
You suck up all that [energy from] people that are coming in here: super sad, depressed, broke, and just desperate. Yet, you want to do more, you want to lower the prices… It’s this constant battle of staying afloat and keeping your community healthy through the plant world.
Why do you stay committed to that mission?
It’s a big deal that the power of plants has taken the world by storm. [Some of us live] in such a concrete jungle that folks don’t have access to going on trips to enjoy nature. At times, I feel like we’re trapped here. Some señoras come in here and they’re like, “Can we help you water? We don’t have space for this at home, but we like being around them.”
That’s why I feel like it’s my duty to keep opening up spaces. I don’t want to capitalize and dominate the plant world. My goal is to create bigger green spaces in my neighborhood, because what I’m doing is tied to so many things in environmental justice, environmental racism, food deserts —all these things are tied to the plant world. I feel the weight of the responsibility, but I’m like, “Andi, one step at a time.”
How does caring for plants translate into liberation work?
Our constantly trying to connect the dots by collaborating, sharing resources, fundraising, [and] even creating the space for others to do so — is radical. I think the most radical thing that I’ve been able to do is create sisterhood and create space for folks [who] are PoC, trans, non-binary, and so forth. That’s how I feel like I’m creating change — by [providing] plant therapy and mental health therapy that you don’t know is happening while we’re getting it.
Ok, advice time. What’s your favorite plant care tip?
Connect with your plants! Pick up your plant, see how much it’s weighing when it’s wet, how much it weighs when it’s dry. Poke it all around to make sure that water and nutrients are even. I always try to place them in the physical space where these plants are originally from — be it dry and still for desert plants or humid and moist for jungle plants. Also remember that whatever you like, [your plants will] like. If the sun burns you, it’s burning your plant.
Aside from plants, what are some rituals and ways that you’re taking care of yourself right now?
My friend was like, “let’s go do yoga” for the first time — the third time ever in my life that I went to do yoga. All this time, I’ve been all judgy about yoga studios up in the hood, but now people in our community are opening up their studios.
We went to the People’s Yoga, and I was finally like, “Ohhhhhh, that’s what meditation is about!” It’s just clearing your mind so your body can relax and you only have to focus on your poses. So I’ll be going back.
What is your highest vision for this work?
Making sure that our community is healthy, well taken care of mentally, physically, et cetera. Advocating for better policies in our community. I feel like a politician, but I’ve had a long time to think about this. I don’t even know where to start, but mental health across the board for everyone is what we all need through plants and through community-building can make substantial change.
I also dream about creating a public conservatory that’s free of charge for the community. All around us, all these major cities, and even smaller wealthy communities have them, but we don’t. I want it to be privately owned so I can decide what I want to teach and not have it run by the nonprofit world or go through city funding and have to play by their rules. I think if I keep working at what I’m doing, maybe we can gather enough resources to make something like that happen.
Plant care is soulcare. Does that resonate? How have plants impacted your rituals? Share in the comments!
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