Russel is the plant collector’s plant collector. I first heard of and followed his Instagram @journeythroughparadise from Jonno when I was interviewing him, and I found myself really moved by his photographs of his really exceptional plants. He is somehow able to capture the essence of his plants (in a similar way I strive to do the same for people in the portraits I take). Russel handles legal and compliance for an MNC in Asia and Middle East and typically works across different time zones. His workday usually stretches beyond 12 hours, but with breaks in between, which is when Russel tends to his eclectic collection.
Russel collects and cares for his plants in the garden that surrounds his home (watch a video tour of his amazing paradise garden here on Youtube, a feature by The Tender Gardener). I admire how deeply he researches in his plants, and how thoughtful he is in how he organizes his garden (for example, paying close attention to what the plants need and locating all his humidity-loving aroids in a greenhouse, plants that want full sun in another section, and so on). It was following Russel’s Instagram that I realized that I’m pretty “basic” as far as my plant collections go. I’ve become a lot more discerning in what I like now, but I’m nowhere near as eclectic as Russel. While he owns amazing specimens of rare and expensive plants that any avid gardener will know, he also owns very many exotic and unusual plants (for example, he has a penchant for spiky, sharp and dangerous-looking plants).
Russel was not able to bring 99.9% of his collection (since they’re either rooted into the ground in his home, or too large to take to the studio), but am delighted he took 3 plants that have special significance to him for the shoot and invited me to visit his garden soon (which I look forward to with excitement).
Why do you love collecting and caring for plants?
I' ve always had an affinity and respect for plants and trees as a child. Plants represent life and I cannot imagine a world without them.
But on a more practical note, it's one of those activities that allows me to be in a world of my own where I think about nothing else other than what I am doing. It has been incredibly meaningful over the past two years where I have had to deal with the stress of my day job while working from home. I find it calming to tend for my plants in between calls. My usual daily routine would involves walking around the different sections of the garden, making mental notes of things that need to be done be it fertilizing, repotting, changing media, changing location, etc. Then I observe the more attention-seeking plants to see how they are growing, usually cuttings or those which are known to be more finicky. I usually end off the morning routine by hosing down the entire garden which is something I enjoy tremendously. What usually excites me most is when I see new development in the growth of a plant, be it leaves transitioning from juvenile form towards maturity or seeing a costus blooming for the very first time (Costus aren't very free-flowering and some have never even flowered).
When and how did you start?
I only started going about it properly in 2003 when I moved to a rented landed property at Chip Bee Gardens. It's always easier when you have some land to "play around" and let your imagination run wild. I eschew gardens that are too manicured, so my preferred style is something natural, an organized mess, or more appropriately, 'an organized jungle'. I love lush gardens packed with all sorts of plants that co-exist and find their own space to thrive, be it sharing a tree to climb or simply just crawling amongst one other on the ground.
How many plants do you have? What type of plants do you focus on?
Too many!
I describe myself as 'The Eclectic Gardener' on IG for a reason, and that is because I am really into a very diverse range of plants. I started out with gingers and bromeliads and moved on to other plants such as succulents, Cycads, palms, Platyceriums, just to name a few. The Costus, which is a genus of ginger from the Costaceae family will always have a special place in my heart as it was probably the genus which kick-started my gardening journey properly in 2003 and inspired me to model my current garden after the Singapore Botanic Garden's Ginger Gardens. To-date, I have more than 75 different species and hybrids of Costus, Cheilocostus and Tapeinochilos in the garden, many of which were collected over the years. I purchased quite a few from Dave Skinner who is a well-respected and knowlegeable expert in the field of Costaceae. He inspires me because despite his age, he still goes on field trips deep in the jungles of South America in search of species which are new to science. He also creates hybids and inspired me to try my hand at creating my own hybrids. I did manage to create two hybrids using the same seed parent plant and named them Costus Sweet Lex and Costus Julie's Kiss. Sweet Lex (https://www.heliconia.org/product-page/costus-hybrid-sweet-lex) was named after my Jack Russell Terrier who spent half his life as a special needs quadriplegic dog. He died a few years ago at age 15. Julie's Kiss (https://www.heliconia.org/product-page/costus-hybrid-julie-s-kiss) is named after my mum who is living with dementia. The whole process from pollination to seed and then to flower took about 4 years (as mentioned above, Costus aren't very free flowering) and it was only in 2019 that Dave helped me register the two with the Heliconia Society International's Costaceae Cultivar Register
What is your "process" in your plant journey?
I don't really have a process, so to speak.
I generally collect and grow plants that intrigue me. Those who know me know that I like anything that looks weird or different, so the stranger the plant looks, the more curious I am about it. For example, I like plants that do not generally fit into the description of plants within their genus or family. Pitcairnia is a genus of grassy "lalang-like" Bromeliad and until it flowers, you would think they look more like weeds. Alluaudia dumosa is the only species in the genus that doesn't have spines and looks more like dead twigs. Currently, I am looking out for a pineapple (Ananas) that resembles an air plant (Tillandsia xerographica) with long strappy leaves that grow downwards. It is totally out of this world.
Why did you pick this plant to be featured with you in your portrait? Is there a story behind it?
The first plant I picked is this Bromeliad, xNeophytum Supernova. This is a bigeneric hybrid, meaning it is the result of breeding species from two different genera within the same family of plants. The reason I picked this was that it represents my journey as a collector. This is such an interesting and diverse family of plants with different forms and growth habits. And since this is one of those families of plants that can be bred across different genera, the hybriding opportunities are terribly exciting. I recently managed to germinate seeds from a Pitcarnia that I crossed with a Dyckia. As both belong to genera that look completely on the opposite ends of the spectrum, I cannot wait to see how the seedlings would look as they mature.
Russel holding his Bromeliad x Neophytum Supernova.
The second plant is a 7-year old Monkey Pot Tree (Lecythis pisonis) which I grew from seed. My friend Wai Wai Hove (@waiwaihove) was commissioned by the Singapore Botanic Gardens to paint botanical illustrations of some of their heritage trees. After she was done painting, she very kindly passed me two seeds to grow. These took a long time to germinate with the second seed taking almost a year. I suppose I picked this plant to represent my journey as a grower and gardener. I really enjoy growing trees and especially palms from seeds that I have collected or purchased. It's a really slow process but it's also very rewarding especially when you see new growth.
The last plant is a Platycerium hybrid which combines two of my favourite species — the willinckii and the veitchii. The reason I picked this was because I didn't want to pick an aroid, plus I find Platycerium to be very underrated. It is quite an easy plant to grow if you pick the right species or hybrid and doesn't require too much attention.
Describe your most significant challenges in your plant journey?
Being a one-man show is always a challenge especially as you get older. I mean, gardening is hard work, and when you have a heavily planted tropical garden, as well as a collection of other diverse plants with differing needs, there is always something to do. Also with climate change and its effects on the weather patterns, I end up having to monitor its impact on the plants that I grow and where necessary, make adjustments either by amending the media or changing their location. My garden is divided into different sections and I work on each section at a time every weekend, whether it's de-weeding, pruning, fertilizing, watering, sweeping, etc. That said, this is all part and parcel of the journey, and when you look at your garden at the end of the day with a beer in your hand, you will always feel that all that hard work, back-aches, bloody scratches (from handling bromeliads) mozzie bites and sunburn was well-worth it. That said, I would love the opportunity to re-do my garden from scratch again and look forward to doing so if and when I move to another place. This time, i'll do two planted gardens, one for my succulents, terrestrial bromeliads, and xeric trees like Boswellia, Moringa, Baobabs, and Commiphoras, and the other a tropical one for all the aroids, palms, and other foliage plants.
Photographer: DGT Portraits
Producer: Quinn Lum
Space: Studio 2020