Plantfluencer: Saray Santana

Content

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself... 2. Can you tell us a little bit about your Instagram account? 3. How did you get into the world of plants? 4. How can you get a bushy Monstera? 5. have to choose between only one plant in the world, which one do you prefer?

In

this edition of Historias de Plantfluencers we talk to Saray Santana, a graduate in Fine Arts and a great lover of plants and nature.

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So many days at home, barefoot. And today I had the urge to put on a pair of jeans, and wear the espadrilles of my friend @claudiayrazubarreda's new collection —model Nora—. . Claudia is an entrepreneur who takes care of her shipments (once a week). So enjoy her collection, you can write directly to her and see the models through her shop @petrae.at 🦌🌿. I feel so much emotion for you, and hopefully success will come to you slowly with each project you do. Life is a journey, not a competition. I miss having you around. ••• May this end soon, and entrepreneurs can give free rein to our illusion.

A post shared by Saray Santana 🌿 (@srta.botanica) on Apr 18, 2020 at 10:55am PDT

Tell us a little bit about yourself...

My name is Saray, I was born in a very small town in Gran Canaria, where the smell of saltpeter can be felt from the doors of the homes. And for a few years now, I've been living in Madrid.

I was accompanied by my 10-year-old cat, and now we are two cats, a dog, and 90m loaded with plants.

I studied Fine Arts, but life takes as many twists and turns as dawns. And I ended up getting into botany, combining it with my work on animals. Through nutrition and assisted activities.

Can you tell us a little bit about your Instagram account?

I try to project healthy habits through my Instagram, developing small tips, experience, and knowledge that I have acquired, and many others that I currently acquire, and I think it is an incredible platform to give free rein to our creativity and make the world participate in our concerns.

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How do you brush your hair?, how do you use the products you apply?, how often do you offer nourishment? 🌱🌿🥥 . They may seem like simple, quick-answer, and logical questions. But we often forget that underneath our hair, there is also skin. And that it is essential, in order for it to look shiny and healthy from the root, that the scalp is nourished; since that is where it is born and grows. When our hair dries out, it has no shine, the cause is in its moisturization and hydration, which causes the skin to also need it. Hair can present other problems, such as improper nutrition, hormonal problems, stress, etc. It's time to start taking care of your skin. . How? 🍃 Try to choose products of natural origin, which, although they have been processed, maintain a greater proportion of the molecular structure of the plant or mineral of origin. 🍃 Use natural oils, such as rosemary, coconut, almond, or argan. 🍃 Brush starting at the ends, once, then mediums, and ending with the root. If the brush/comb stops, start again from the bottom. 🍃 Offer nourishment through masks, at least once a week if it is dry, combination hair. And every other time, on oily hair. ••• This week you will have available on the blog, what natural oils and what shampoos, sustainable creams I recommend. Among other accessories to take care of a well-being as important as our hair. ___

A post shared by Saray Santana 🌿 (@srta.botanica) on May 13, 2020 at 2:33am PDT

How did you get into the world of plants?

My grandmother had a greenhouse where on Sundays it became a lime greenhouse and a sand greenhouse, we would stand in the sun with the straw hat, and pick tomatoes. And when we finished—hours later—he would reward me by going into his orchard. And that's where my passion for plants was born.

She taught me that they are not there to beautify, but that they hide some benefits and that they are there for a reason. Which caused me to be a phytotherapist today, and I use them both in the health and well-being of my family, as well as that of the animals.

How can you get a bushy Monstera?

Mainly, the well-being of a Monstera lies in light. If we forbid the benefit of clarity, photosynthesis would not be possible, and with it transform an inorganic substrate into energy-rich organic matter. To achieve that vivid color, and the peculiar growth of its leaves.

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I hesitated to see you again, and crashed into fate. But, you knocked on the door and when it opened, I hugged you, kissed you, as if no time had passed, as if nothing had happened. I couldn't figure out which side of the bed you liked for breakfast. Not even that song that makes you dance. I didn't understand what made you want to know more about me, or that desire to see me, to take care of me. What for, why? I just thought I wanted not to break our bargain not to go beyond the bones and skin. And that the moment you brushed deeper, I would tell you, "Walk away." But, you stayed. You didn't intend to, you didn't talk about it, you didn't make me tell you about my wounds, you didn't need my stories. I confess that I was afraid, very afraid. That damn mania of mine of, breaking everything, spoiling the beautiful things that are coming. Believing it would be better. You brought the illusion to my face, making me nervous. You knew I hadn't had a good time, but you touched me slowly. Driving away my fears. Today, I still don't know if you like the side of the bed you wake up on, if my French toast is your favorite, but I do know how to make you dance. I know how to look at you to make you smile, I know what to do to infect you with the desire to live. Today, one year since that moment you knocked on the door again. That you were talking to me while our dinner was slowing down. A year since I brought you into our lives. Today nothing beats my smile, with you. •••

A post shared by Saray Santana 🌿 (@srta.botanica) on Feb 2, 2020 at 7:46am PST

Many of us tend to place this type of exotic plant in aesthetic places in the house, where it hardly gives it light, and what we will get is dark leaves, causing its edges to wrinkle, and causing stains, because the substrate would not be able to dry completely.

We ship plants to all locations, you can see more options here.

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Monstera Deliciosa

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Okay, you

have to choose between only one plant in the world, which one do you prefer?

My favorite plant is the Poto. Plant I've grown up with, the first one I inherited from my grandmother and she taught me how to take care of. It is capable of embellishing any corner no matter how rotten it was, that's wonderful.

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The only thing that makes you different from me; Time. The time you spend being a better person, breathing. What makes you different from me is the time that underlies your biological clock, the time you spend on what you eat, laughing, meeting people who are really worth it. The time you dedicate to what matters, to your family, to learning about this life, the time you dedicate to your body, to taking care of your soul, to reading, to observing. The time you spend listening to your heart. But to really listen to it. The time you spend with yourself and not with others. The one who makes this world a better place. If there were a timer for the time we waste criticizing others, we would be doomed to a clock full of lamentations. Imagine if all the time you spend criticizing others was spent on yourself. TO BE A BETTER PERSON. To do better every day, to wake up with a new and better purpose. Planting a fucking tree or reading yourself a book. In trying to run a kilometer faster or at least enjoy it more. In being grateful and deserving of the little things in life that without realizing it, go away in every heartbeat and in every breath. Or in a fateful phone call that announces that he will never hug us again. Because I don't know if you've noticed, but time is the only thing that doesn't go back. Hate, to criticize, sickens our minds and withers our souls. Hopefully we can re-educate ourselves from this coldness, as if there were no soul, be able to pierce the skin of others and feel less free before judging. Perhaps the events that are coming to us these days – every day – will make us a little more human... maybe 🌱
•••
A post shared by Saray Santana 🌿 (@srta.botanica) on May 19, 2020 at 7:44am PDT

when its growth achieves the creeper effect, it impresses me even more. It has the ability to release toxins from the atmosphere. You really feel its potent purifying power. Although my house is not invaded by this specimen due to its toxicity in animals. I recommend having it in the heights, out of reach.

We ship plants to all locations, you can see more options here.

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Monstera Deliciosa

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Pothos

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What is your weekly care routine?

I don't always have the same routine. Because there are weeks that I dedicate to some, which involve very different care than the others.

But I'm very strict with their care. It is the basis for their health, and therefore ours, to flow. They are there to improve your oxygen, calm it, transmit security, their appearance is healthy.

The first thing I do is analyze its leaves, their color and texture. That's when I detect if they need water in them, or not. As for the substrate, I always feel it with my fingers, and check if it drains into the soil, since we tend to add water without first analyzing, and we cause an unnecessary excess of water.

I never leave the leaves with water resting on them, on the big-leaved plants. We would cause a disorder in their leaf epidermis, and we would prevent their chlorophyll from taking effect in the sun, and as a consequence stains would appear, even burns.

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Campanula Abella Intense P...

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Philodendron squamiferum

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Over time you realize that spontaneity is the only believable, the only real thing. That there are languages as universal as hugging, which this confinement has taught me to use. Taking care of people is not a challenge, but it is not an easy task either, perhaps it is all about knowing how to be, to accompany. To bring out all those qualities that make you be, and in the most crucial moment of life – forbidden to approach – to be, to be, to take care of and when the vulnerable moments arrive, to be there. ••• Thank you @c.r.i.s.f.d.e.z for knowing how to care. . Prayer Floor Plan #maranta @es.be.green 🌱 ——

A post shared by Saray Santana 🌿 (@srta.botanica) on May 24, 2020 at 9:00am PDT

And lastly, if I see that the leaves start to have an unusual color (yellow) or curl each other. I detect a lack of potassium, and that's when I make a homemade fertilizer based on banana peels, and once a month I add this organic fertilizer.