Rising Stars: Meet Mary Montez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Montez.

Hi Mary, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started Mixed With Plants as a space to explore my Mixed identity and hold a space for other people who identify as Mixed-Race. I wanted Mixed folks to feel safe and seen as well as educate others on Mixed-Race issues and how to support our community. At the same time, I started my hobby of indoor gardening, which was spurred by quarantining at home during the pandemic, and thus Mixed With Plants was born. I started by creating content surrounding my own experiences growing up Mixed-Race as Chinese and Nicaraguan and what people can do to support the Mixed-Race community. I also documented my newfound plant parenthood including the ups and downs of learning how to care for plants. It’s been nearly a year since I started my account and I have met so many people who share a passion for plants and who resonate with my Mixed experience.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In the beginning, it was very challenging for me to be so vulnerable about my Mixed experience. It was the first time I was sharing my experiences in such intimate detail and I was putting it out there on a huge social media platform. I had extreme anxiety before sharing any posts about my Mixed experience, but I knew that sharing my story would help people with similar experiences so I always overcame my fear and posted the content. It was so rewarding and validating when I received an outpouring of support and all the messages from people who were grateful for my content. My plant content has always come to me naturally because I was documenting my journey and sharing things that I would already be doing for my plants. There were many times where I got caught up in the Instagram algorithm and worried about my posts being seen or liked, which I’m sure a lot of creators experience as well. Remembering why I started this Instagram account always brought me back to center and helped me overcome the worries I had about the algorithm.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a digital content creator, I article my plant parenthood journey and mixed-race exploration through creating original content that reflects on my life-long experiences as well as my newfound plant parenthood. I specialize in plant care and I eventually want to host plant consultations and perhaps start a plant-related business in the future. No matter where my plant journey takes me, I always want to incorporate having a community for people who identify as Mixed-Race and having a space to discuss topics that are important to me like social justice, racial and gender equality, self-healing, and cultural issues just to name a few. Having this aspect of my plant community is what sets me apart and has drawn people to join me on my journey.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
To me, risk-taking is an essential part of growing. Taking risks helps us learn, be empathetic, and discover new opportunities. I took a risk by being vulnerable and sharing my Mixed experiences for the first time through Mixed With Plants. I was rewarded with a wonderful community of people, many of whom I now call friends. Being open to taking risks and embracing new opportunities is one of the many gifts we have in this life.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://linktr.ee/mixedwithplants
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mixedwithplants/

Image Credits:
All photos and content were created by Mary Montez