Inside a split-level home in northeast Colorado Springs, 6-year-old Eliot Hicks savored the last spoonfuls of his SpaghettiOs, his small feet swinging beneath the kitchen table, during an evening late this spring. His father, Justin Hicks, was nearby, tending to a collection of plants that made their living space feel like a miniature jungle.
Above the kitchen sink, herbs grew in small, quirky pots. In one corner of the living room, vegetable seedlings were waiting for Colorado’s growing season to kick off, while a collection of houseplants sat in another corner. The 37-year-old’s love of plants started small but has grown over time, filling his home and yard with foliage and flowers.
“I’m definitely not as far down the rabbit hole as a lot of people, but I now have a dedicated space for plants,” Justin said with a smile that poked out of his reddish beard. He pointed to a plant sitting on a ledge — a red maranta, commonly known as a prayer plant, which tilts its vibrant green and red striped leaves up and down depending on the time of day, like hands praying.
“That was the first one. That was the gateway plant,” he said. This baby was Justin’s first success in the world of houseplants. Motioning to another corner of the living room outfitted with bamboo-like shelves holding other houseplants, he said: “Then I became this.”
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