James S. Mastaler, PhD

Plants. People. Purpose.

Author, Scholar, & Content Creator

James is the author of Woven Together and is a scholar of religion and ecology with expertise in social justice, climate change, global poverty, and gender disparities. He is a trained naturalist, amateur birder, urban gardener, and proud houseplant parent whose intersectional work through social media channels explores the connections between plants, people, and purpose.

440B1ED5-0353-4207-92AC-C023EBA90010_1_201_a.jpeg

@pistilsandpollen

Hi! I’m James—an author, scholar, and content creator… as well as an urban gardener and proud houseplant parent exploring the intersections between plants, people, and purpose. Welcome—I’m so glad you’re here!

Check out my new HUB!

 

Philodendron giganteum is a plant that lives up to its name—these leaves are gigantic! But I know they can get even bigger. If you followed my trip to Puerto Rico earlier this year, you may have seen me pose with a P. giganteum whose leaves were larger than my torso. So this little fella has a way to go yet. We’re on our way, though. I’ve used my aroid soil mix here—the recipe is linked in my bio—it’s a rich but airy blend perfectly for fast growing tropical plants like this one. I water this Philodendron once a week and give it consistently bright light—the brighter the better, supplementing with my preferred grow light bulb (also linked in bio). Looking forward to watching this fella keep growing it’s way to larger leaves with each new unfurling! #philodendron #philodendrongiganteum #foliage #foliageplant #foliage_love #indoorjungle #houseplants #house_plant_community #plantsmakemehappy #plants #indoorplantsdecor #houseplantstyle
My little golden pothos is growing up! This big leaf belongs to one of the first plants I started growing on a moss pole. Golden pothos, or Epipremnum aureum, is a common houseplant available even at many big box stores at relatively little cost.
My little golden pothos is growing up! This big leaf belongs to one of the first plants I started growing on a moss pole. Golden pothos, or Epipremnum aureum, is a common houseplant available even at many big box stores at relatively little cost. And that’s where this fella came from originally, with leaves just a couple inches in length. And while it grew for many years in my home as a hanging plant, I decided to give it a moss pole and let it begin to climb. If you scroll back through to some of my earliest videos, you can probably find that first moss pole video! My goal has been to see how big the leaves will get—and, ultimately, I’d love to see it start to fenestrate! That’s when the plant has mature enough to start creating fingered lobes like one might see on a Monstera deliciosa plant. I likely have a way yet to go before I start seeing fenestrations, but it’s really exciting to see each new leaf coming in larger than the previous one. Are you growing any climbing plants up a moss pole? I’d love to hear about it here below or over in one of the chat circles in my online plant club (link in bio)! #pothos #epipremnum #epipremnumaureum #goldenpothos #fenestration #foliage #foliageplant #mosspole #plants #plantsmakemehappy #house_plant_community #indoorjungle
Mounted my new skeleton key pothos to a coco coir moss pole! Skeleton key pothos, or Epipremnum pinnatum, is a type of pothos that when mature has one of the most unusual leaf shapes of any pothos plants I have ever seen. And since I like to plant several plants in one pot when I start with a new pole so that it looks fuller while the plant is still small, I chose to chop & propagate my little plant in sphagnum moss before transitioning it over to soil and a pole. Then I used my aroid soil mix to fill the pot—it’s very light and airy and has all the nutrients this little plant will need to start climbing it’s new pole with some real vigor. The pole is filled with coco coir chips, which I think makes for a great alternative to sphagnum moss when moss is not available or is prohibitively expensive as many climbers I’ve grown seem to take to it quite well. Have you tried growing anything up a moss pole? I’d love to hear about it here in the comments or over at my online plants club (link in bio). If you haven’t tried it yet but would like to, there’s a tutorial in my IG stories…and you can certainly reach out to me directly for a consultation if you think you could use a little one-on-one advice in making your own pole. That link is also in my bio. #mosspole #pothos #pothosplant #epipremnum #epipremnumpinnatum #skeletonkey #foliage #foliage_love #climbingplants #plantsmakemehappy #indoorjungle #house_plant_community
Fresh herbs are some of my favorite plants to grow in containers out on the deck. My herb garden includes fragrant herbs like lavender, rosemary, oregano, and thyme. I’m also growing fraise des bois among my herbs—it’s a kind of A
Fresh herbs are some of my favorite plants to grow in containers out on the deck. My herb garden includes fragrant herbs like lavender, rosemary, oregano, and thyme. I’m also growing fraise des bois among my herbs—it’s a kind of Alpine or wild strawberry that I’ve found thrives in small containers. This super sweet variety tastes like candy to me and it overwinters on my roof without any additional protection from Chicago’s cold winters. Just to the right—mostly off camera—I’m also growing spearmint, peppermint, and lemon balm. And elsewhere in the garden I’m growing nasturtium and basil among my container-grown tomato plants. Chives, cilantro, and dill are also among the herbs I grow every year up on my roof, though I prefer to give them larger containers than those here because I use much more of them in kitchen. I’d love to hear how you grow your herbs, either here in the comments below or over at my online plant club (link in bio). And if you’d like help planning out your own herb garden next year, I hope you’ll reach out directly for a virtual plant consultation & garden coaching. A special thanks to @plantstandcollective for making the fun garden tags! #herb #herbgarden #containergardening #citygarden #urbangarden #urbanagriculture #pottedherbs #balconygarden #roofgarden #growyourownfood #organicgardening #plantsmakemehappy #potager #potagergarden
Time to repot this happy Alocasia so it can keep on growing. I brought this fella home from my local plant shop @plantstandcollective earlier this spring and it just keeps sending out new leaves that are larger and taller than the last. I’m hoping it’ll keep doing so for a little while longer as it takes to its new planter—hoping to buy some time until I can find a larger planter for the next time I’ll need to size up! I used my aroid soil mix here (recipe linked in bio), though I was a little heavier handed with all of the ingredients that hold water since I know this Alocasia can be a little thirstier & tolerate damper soil than some of the other plants I have growing in the mix. Looking forward to watching this one reach the ceiling one day! Do you have a favorite indoor tree or supersized plant? I hope you’ll tell me about it below or check out my online plant club (link in bio) & take the poll in our plant styling group. #alocasia #alocasiamacrorrhiza #indoorplants #indoorplantsdecor #indoorjungle #house_plant_community #plantsmakemehappy #soilmix #repotting #foliage #foliageplant
Philodendron giganteum is a plant that lives up to its name—these leaves are gigantic! But I know they can get even bigger. If you followed my trip to Puerto Rico earlier this year, you may have seen me pose with a P. giganteum whose leaves we
My little golden pothos is growing up! This big leaf belongs to one of the first plants I started growing on a moss pole. Golden pothos, or Epipremnum aureum, is a common houseplant available even at many big box stores at relatively little cost.
Mounted my new skeleton key pothos to a coco coir moss pole! Skeleton key pothos, or Epipremnum pinnatum, is a type of pothos that when mature has one of the most unusual leaf shapes of any pothos plants I have ever seen. And since I like to plant
Fresh herbs are some of my favorite plants to grow in containers out on the deck. My herb garden includes fragrant herbs like lavender, rosemary, oregano, and thyme. I’m also growing fraise des bois among my herbs—it’s a kind of A
Time to repot this happy Alocasia so it can keep on growing. I brought this fella home from my local plant shop @plantstandcollective earlier this spring and it just keeps sending out new leaves that are larger and taller than the last. I’m h

Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.