Just being out in nature is immensely inspirational and centering.
- Andrew Zimmer, Marly grower
When Andrew, a first time home owner, husband, father, and novice gardener, first reached out to Marly in early 2024, he had questions.
He was ready to fill his new home with plants, but was grappling with a property positioned at an odd angle, low light, walls of various colors, and a desire to complement existing furniture.
Not to mention that, in his own words, Andrew was a “totally green” gardener.
So, we did what we love doing most here at Marly. We broke things down. Plant by plant, color by color, corner by corner.
Andrew sent us photos of the spaces he was looking to fill and told us a little more about his lifestyle.
He had questions, we had recommendations.
We suggested a mix of small and large planters in Deep Indigo and Earthy Terracotta, each color compatible with different aspects of Andrew's vision.
A few months on, Andrew's plants, and his pad, are thriving.
A snake plant climbs steadily upwards, fitted snugly between a fireplace and leather reading chair.
A ZZ plant flourishes alongside a flowing pothos, creating a beautiful splash of green and red in another corner.
Beyond the upgrade in aesthetics, Marly planters are saving time, stress, and money, for a young family who love traveling, exploring, and building memories together.
After getting to know Andrew and supporting him on his gardening journey, we were keen to learn more about his background, how he got to where he is today, and his outlook on life.
As with every Marly grower we speak to, his answers were unique, thoughtful, and inspiring.
See what gardening means to Andrew, below 👇
---
Hey Andrew, we appreciate you sitting down with us today! Could you provide a mini bio on yourself and your background?
Oh wow, where to start...
Hi, I'm Andrew. I'm originally from a small town in central Indiana called Cambridge City. I studied organizational communication at Ball State University for my undergrad, got involved with a campus ministry called The Navigators, and saw some good personal growth during those years.
I went on to study community college and university leadership at Appalachian State University for my graduate degree, and have worked in the prospect development space for about seven years now for three universities: Miami University (Oxford, OH), University of Dayton, and now Purdue.
I am a research analyst, which really means my day-to-day looks a lot like standing in front of my computer at home, researching prospective donors who might give large sums of money to the university someday. I never thought I’d be doing this, but over the years I’ve found it to be important and practical work that helps create meaningful opportunities for students.
It’s work that keeps me humble and helps me support my family, so I can’t really argue with that. I've been married to my wife, Casey, for 13 years and we have two embryo adopted boys (she carried them) - one is five and the other is two.
The adversity of infertility has been a big part of our story and I always want to encourage anyone who's going through that. I literally couldn't ask for a more gracious partner by my side through life's triumphs and trials.
What do plants, nature and gardening mean to you?
Nothing big and inspirational here about plants and gardening. We are first time home owners since early 2023, and lived in apartments for twelve years prior to that. During those years, we maintained one baby bamboo plant that was a gift to my wife from a former co-worker, but since we have moved into our new home, little by little we are trying to make our space feel welcoming and unique (such a long way to go but we'll get there!).
Nature, however, has been massively important to me over the years. During grad school in North Carolina, we were out hiking the trails and driving the Blue Ridge Parkway quite frequently. We've taken regular trips back to that area since, and checked a Patagonia trip off the list a few years ago. We are currently in a season of life where travel and finances haven't been super easy, but hopefully many more trips are on the horizon.
Just being out in nature is immensely inspirational and centering.
What's your favorite thing to grow inside your home or garden?
I think the easiest plant for us to maintain has been our zz plant and golden pothos. Our home is oriented at such an odd angle and the windows are in just the right spots to make growing much of anything a real challenge!
Do you have any unusual tips or tricks for keeping your plants healthy?
Haven't really dabbled in any plant fertilizers but it's on the to do list. So far we have just planted, watered, and watched them grow. If anyone has any tips for figuring out how to manage the humidity of the house, that might be insightful, but I think by trial and error we will eventually figure out which plants work and don't work in our environment.
Are there any home or garden accessories/tools/products that you would recommend to our community, and why?
Man, great question. We haven't really delved that deep into this as a hobby or anything, but I'm all ears for any cost effective tips and tricks, particularly for providing extra humidity without breaking the bank or getting too complex/high maintenance.
We have a monstera that is doing great, but some tips brown occasionally and I'd love to prevent that if there's an easy way.
How has your Marly planter helped you on your gardening journey?
Total game changer in terms of watering. It's tremendously effective at giving me a clear visual of how much water each plant needs.
What are you listening to, watching, or reading right now?
For music, you can get a good idea of my listening habits at bandcamp.com/andrewz - jazz, reggae, hip-hop, blues, country, african, latin, and cumbia are all great genres but anything that fuses those together into something unique is what I'm often after.
Also, don't sleep on the Saturday morning radio show, Positive Vibrations, on KEXP out of Seattle - unparalleled reggae vibes and curation by Kid Hops.
As far as reading goes, I'm still chipping away at Justin Whitmel Earley's Habits of the Household as my wife and I try to raise our boys - and the Bible on the daily.
Which bar, restaurant, park, store, or place do you always recommend a friend visits? Domestic or international.
The Drinks: A cannot miss beer destination for me is Asheville - specifically Burial Brewing and Cellarest Brewing, but there are a lot of other mind-expanding brewers in the area. Grab some doughnuts from Hole Doughnuts while you're in town btw, and try at least 4-5 other breweries if you have time. Last time I checked, there were supposedly 55 breweries in Asheville. I did grad school in NC and that part of the country just feels like home. The Appalachian mountains, especially in the fall, are just the best.
Another can’t miss beer destination for the facility and vibe: Rhinegeist in Cincinnati, OH (shown in the pic below) is wonderful just for the Cincy brewing history and the sheer magnitude of the facility (historic local brewing facility). The first time I ever went there they were blasting some heavy afrobeat vibes and, based on that alone, it has been one of my favorites ever since.
If you are heading to Indianapolis (our hometown) Guggman Haus or Hotel Tango are preferred places to drink.
The Food: Here are some favorites from our travels to Seattle where we deal with our adoption agency and fertility clinic, as well as some gems from Asheville, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis.
Mean Sandwich is a cannot miss destination in Seattle - cannot think of a better sandwich and hand cut fries combo in recent memory. Keeping with Seattle, the handmade cookies at Monorail Espresso are not to be missed. LePanier (french bakery) was an almost too easily underestimated and overlooked gem. Also, Holy Mountain Brewing and Dantini’s Pizza nextdoor were surprisingly good.
We used to live near Cincinnati and frequented a baker called Brown Bear Bakery that now has a sister location called Two Seven Two - so far in our experience, they make some of the best sourdough focaccia we've ever had.
If you are headed to Indianapolis, grab cookie/pastry and a sourdough loaf from Amelia's, some ice cream from Square Scoop, a nice lunch from the recently opened Borage Cafe in Speedway (our side of town), and if you're looking for a nice brunch spot, it would be hard to go wrong with Cafe Patachou. Argentine food from Che Chori is pretty good, and a top rated cash-only donut shop, Long’s Bakery is right down the road.
Destinations: If you ever have a chance to travel to southern Patagonia, run, don't walk! Would love to spend more time in the Andes, but really anywhere mountainous gets me excited - the Dolomites, the Alps, New Zealand - I'd love to see it all!
What's the best gift you've ever received?
Life, my faith, my wife, and two wonderful boys.
What's something or someone that inspires you?
My grandfather: born 1910, fought in WWII, and was a role model in faith for me.
Leaders of the Christian faith who were far from perfect: Paul, David, Abraham etc.
Designers, artists, musicians, and teachers: I’m always inspired by those who have a knack for creating something functional that is also beautiful and unique.
Artists and musicians also hold a special place in my heart: documenting their lives in tangible ways - creating snapshots in time that are meant to inspire or provoke thought.
Teachers are right up there - essential workers educating the next generation, thanklessly pouring themselves out daily and not getting compensated nearly enough for it.
Teachers for the win!
Thanks again for your time Andrew, we appreciate it, and look forward to seeing your garden continue to grow!
No problem - me too!
-----
Andrew Zimmer is a husband, father, research analyst and novice gardener based in Indianapolis.
Andrew grows using a mix of Marly planters including the Smaller, Deep Indigo Self-Watering Planters and the Larger, Earthy Terracotta Self-Watering Planter plus legs for stacking (as pictured in the images above).
If you would like to be featured on the Marly journal, or know someone who should be, please reach out to growcurious@marlygarden.com, we would love to chat!
And you can sign up for Marly's Grower Club newsletter here.
We deliver more content like this every week. It's guaranteed to make you the coolest gardener you know 😎🌱