WHAT STILL GROWS

'Finding Resilience, Community & Ourselves Among The Leaves'
Exclusive Interview with Krystal Duran
Featured in 'Innerviews'
Hosted by Allié McGuire

​Sometimes the things we care for have a way of caring for us right back. For Krystal Duran, the creative force behind Plants with Krystal, nurturing plants became more than a passion—it became a place to hold grief, rediscover purpose, and connect with thousands of people navigating their own seasons of change. With her debut book, More Than Just A Plant, Krystal explores what happens when plant care becomes self-care, growth becomes healing, and something as simple as a leaf reminds us that life can continue after loss.

ALLIÉ: You’ve shared that it was after losing your husband in 2022 that caring for plants became part of how you moved through your grief. Was there a particular moment when you realized that you weren’t only helping the plants survive, but that somehow they were helping you survive too?

KRYSTAL: Yeah. I remember taking a step back one day. I got up from bed just long enough to water a couple of my plants, and it was a better day than the day before. At that moment, I knew that at least it gave me some reason to get up again.

​The following day, I had that same realization: Okay, now I have the energy to actually get up and repot a plant. And it just went from there.

ALLIÉ: That’s what it comes down to so often. It’s having a reason. And you found that even if it was just the smallest of reasons, it was still a reason.

I’d like to talk about your book. The title is More Than Just a Plant. Can you finish that thought for us personally? When you look at the plants that surrounded you during some of your hardest days, what were they more than?

KRYSTAL: More Than Just a Plant is really about community. Through growing plants, I’ve learned that I’m not alone in this. I’ve heard other people’s stories, and they’ve told me how plants helped them through some of the hardest parts of their lives.

For me, “more than just a plant” means it’s not simply about the plants sitting on your desk. It’s about what they bring to us.

ALLIÉ: I love that. And like I said, I’m the opposite of a green thumb over here. You were saying just a moment ago that this is something that can be taught. It’s something that can be learned. Even if you weren’t born with a green thumb, you can find it.

KRYSTAL: Absolutely. I’ll speak for myself: I had the opposite of a green thumb. I killed every plant that I had in my home. So if I can grow these plants, everyone can grow these plants.

Sometimes you’re looking at them for too long. You have to ignore them for a little bit.

ALLIÉ: This gives me hope because even succulents can’t survive me. I’m like, “What am I doing?” This is an issue. I’m either too much or too little. I don’t know.

Let’s go back to something you said a moment ago. After sharing your own grief journey, thousands of people began telling you how plants had carried them through their own challenges. What did hearing those stories teach you about the ways we sometimes find healing in places where we never expected?

KRYSTAL: Initially, it was very overwhelming for me because I hadn’t yet processed my own loss. But in that same breath, it also made me feel less alone.

The more I spoke to people, the more I realized that they, too, were looking to plants as an outlet. Being able to grow those plants, see and reflect on that growth, and then reflect on their own growth was a beautiful thing. It’s amazing to see how we can correlate our own life journeys with the growth of the plants we care for.

ALLIÉ: You spent years in social work before becoming known for plant education, and both worlds seem to be rooted in care, patience, and helping something grow. How much of the person you were in social work still shows up in the way you teach and build community today?

​KRYSTAL: All the time. I have to have patience. I have to have self-awareness. You’re also observing everything around you. When you’re working with people, you’re observing different emotions. With plants, you’re observing how they’re drooping or how they’re perked up.

It’s a little different, but some of the things I learned working with individuals carry over. Although they’re certainly not the same, there are similarities when it comes to growing plants as well. Definitely patience. Definitely self-awareness.

ALLIÉ: Patience in all things. Patience is a virtue. I’m not there yet, but I am trying. Maybe plants will help me through that. I don’t know.

KRYSTAL: They’ll give you some “oops” moments. There’s no rushing your growth.

ALLIÉ: Right? You have to meet yourself where you are and grow as you can.

This final question for you today, Krystal, comes from the fact that plants teach us that growth isn’t always visible. Sometimes everything important is happening beneath the soil, beneath the surface. So, in this season of your own life, what do you believe is growing in you that the world may not be able to see just yet?

KRYSTAL: I’d say the expansion of who I am outside of Plants with Krystal, and really recognizing who I am as an individual in all of this. I’m growing my confidence and understanding that I have the skills to go out and teach outside of the screen and see people in person.

I’m a little bit of an introvert, so I’m practicing those skills to get myself out there and speak in person.

ALLIÉ: To have you blossom out in the world, I think that’s amazing.

KRYSTAL: Yes, exactly. ∎

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​Find & follow Krystal on Instagram: @_plantswithkrystal_
Learn more about her work & her book online: www.plants-with-krystal.com