Marcus Chia created his Instagram account @marcusonaroids to show people that gardening is not a hobby that is only taken up by the older generation. He wants to invite the next generation of young gardeners to join him in his journey. Marcus graduated from university just a day before the start of circuit breaker into an uncertain economy and world. He briefly did food delivery during the lockdown and used his savings to start his plant collection and eventually fit out his garden yard as he got deeper into his plant passion. He is now an investment analyst focused on equities but puts aside time each week to care for his small kingdom of aroids. Incidentally and coincidentally, Marcus was also featured on National Parks Board in this video.
Why do you love collecting and caring for plants?
I discovered my passion for plants at a crossroads in my life. Having just graduated from university, I felt like I wanted to pursue and try out many different experiences and discover a passion before adulthood really kicked in.
It helped me get through that difficult time (difficult because I had just gotten out of a long-term relationship, straight into covid and isolation as a fresh graduate into an uncertain economy), and I decided to hold onto it. It’s rewarding to nurture something and see the growth of it. When you put together all of it and see a lush and verdant sea of green, it’s gives me a sense of quiet satisfaction seeing my hard work come to fruition when the plants are growing well.
When and how did you start?
I started in august 2020 during the pandemic, started with some edibles and a vertical wall before chancing upon aroids for their beautiful foliage. My plants started out living in my room, but I eventually ended up customizing a sliver of space in my yard for my plants which is where they are now living and thriving.
How many plants do you have? What type of plants do you focus on?
I have about a thousand plants, I focus on plants that are more affordable and that I can grow into massive sizes.
Marcus giving a tour of his miniature greenhouse in his home, which he custom built over 10 days. He later extended it to accommodate his thriving collection of plants.
What is your "process" in your plant journey?
Ultimately my process is to have fun and to grow with the hobby.
When it comes to growing, I’ll always do my research first before I start tinkering with different ideas and trying other more creative ways to grow the same plant. After a while, you learn what works best for you as you continually refine your growing skills.
In terms of funding the hobby. As a 25-year-old, you don’t have much capital to work with. So I try to be as smart as I can with the plant purchases. I try to buy affordable plants with the goal of growing them to their fullest potential. This makes me very happy. I also partially fund the hobby through means that would benefit other people in the plant community like selling moss poles (I put aside time each week to personally customize my moss poles which I use for all my own plants) and offering affordable propagations on social media when they start to outgrow my garden.
As a means to partially fund his hobby, Marcus spends time each week creating extra poles that he sells to avid gardeners. These poles fit snugly into his pots, and Marcus uses them to help his climbing aroids grow large and lush.
Marcus sharing tips on how to care for a propagation that he sold to a buyer on Instagram at his home garden.
DGT now owns the top cut of my Monstera esqueleto when it grew to the top of my greenhouse which he reserved from me during one of my sessions on Instagram stories.
Why did you pick this plant to be featured with you in your portrait? Is there a story behind it?
Philodendron Jerry Horne and Philodendron El Choco Red - examples of plants that are not particularly expensive but can grow really big with the right conditions and care.
Describe the most significant challenges in your plant journey?
Maintaining and making sure all the plants in the collection often comes with its challenges, especially when it comes down to juggling a full-time job, social interactions with a demanding hobby.
It’s also challenging to balance maintaining an extensive collection with many varieties in a limited space; I often have to make a choice of what to keep, offer up for adoption or sale, and what to acquire.
Photographer: DGT Portraits
Producer: Quinn Lum
Space: Studio 2020