Inspiring Conversations with Angela Correll of My Plant Therapist

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Correll.

Hi Angela, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My love for plants began in my early teens helping my mom plant annual containers in the late spring.

After high school, I began working at Foothills Parks & Recreation in Morrison, CO, on the Forestry/Horticulture crew. I also worked at O’toole’s Garden Center, helping customers pick out the perfect plants for their yards and goals. I worked my way up to being the Forestry/Horticulture Crew Leader, as well as successfully completed the CSU Master Gardener Program in 1997. I absolutely loved volunteering! A large part of the Master Gardener program is to volunteer in the extension office for your county helping the community with any and all problems, advice, and educational aspects of home horticulture. I felt very fulfilled and continued to place a focus on service throughout my life.

During what was to be my fifth and final year of working for the parks department I was invited to an open house at a massage therapy school in nearby Lakewood- Colorado School of Healing Arts. I immediately fell in love with working with my hands in a new way. I felt many similarities between impacting muscles and people as I did cultivate plants in my garden. I felt a deep sense of connection and nurturing in my work. A grounding in the slow pace of each modality. A quieting of my mind and fostering my intuition that felt as familiar as my hands in the soil.

As I nurtured a thriving massage practice for the next 15 years I continued to be a passionate gardener with a special affinity for perennials. I have always had a ridiculous amount of indoor plants. Many of them have special meanings or stories. Some have been with me for 30 years! I also have had the honor of inheriting plants from loved ones who have passed (some of which they inherited) which makes them even more special to me. Helping my clients, family, and friends solve many of their own plant issues, giving those new to gardening encouragement & education as well as designing indoor and outdoor plant escapes continued to be one of my great joys.

After the lockdown so, many of our lives changed. Mine included no longer being able to perform my beloved massage therapy. It was hard to imagine not being a massage therapist much less not being a business owner. While massage therapy may have been ending, the demand for my plant and gardening advice increased! While I was looking for a way I could be of service again I was also being encouraged by clients, family, and friends to begin a business somehow involving my passion for plants and people. An idea was planted! I had a tremendous amount of fulfillment in educating massage clients about their muscles/bodies, the benefits of massage therapy, and watching their physical & mental health improve. I found similar satisfaction in helping people improve many of the same aspects with plants and gardening as I did with massage therapy. I would create a new service-based business sharing my love of plants, educating and coaching gardeners, and continuing my CBD product development; pivoting from a massage therapist to My Plant Therapist.

Today My Plant Therapist offers one on one plant therapy sessions, garden coaching, design, and handmade CBD topicals. I enjoy serving my community by improving the quality of health and life through gardening and plants. My focus is growing gardeners and supporting them to reach their growth goals.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’m very grateful, so far the struggles have been minimal. I had to recover from surgery at the end of 2020 which was quite a shift from my normal active life. That was a significant obstacle for me, mentally and physically! I had taken care of people all of my life and now I was the one healing. It’s a big shift to switch from caretaker to patient.

Once I was able to get past the initial recovery phase, I began to shift my energy into the observation of the horticulture industry and evaluate how it serves my community. What services are needed but missing or unattainable due to pricing or contract commitment? How can I take my passion for plants and share it with others?

How can I create a new kind of concept merging the therapeutic value of plants and gardening with the same values I practiced in my massage therapy career? My mission became clear; to listen, empathize, support, and educate others so they may improve their physical and mental health through gardening both indoors and out, CBD education and use, and giving back to my community through accessible plant events and volunteer work.

Forced to slow down physically, I took this opportunity to do the same for the CBD industry. I have extensive knowledge of CBD and in doing my own research I am always amazed at how much misinformation is out there! It’s the information age which is awesome but can also be overwhelming. Clients have trusted me for years to educate and implement CBD use in their lives. So another obstacle comes from the myths surrounding CBD and its uses/effects. I’m on a mission to properly educate people about the healing power of cannabis. It’s an exciting time to work in the field of plant medicine.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about My Plant Therapist LLC?
My Plant Therapist offers onsite and online/call-in sessions for all things plants. Prior to the session, the client fills out a brief questionnaire. Sessions are tailored to the gardener’s goals, skill level, and lifestyle. Clients receive a summary of the session and any follow-up tasks recommended. I also offer new gardener support and education. As well as new or existing garden designs. I find this is popular among my clients who are new to Colorado or first-time homeowners. Many of my clients reach out because they are wanting to add plants or gardening into their lifestyle.

Whether they are new to gardening or want to expand their hobby, they enjoy the one on one attention a personal garden coach can provide. Sometimes they are coming to me because they keep encountering the same problem over and over. They are frustrated and out of ideas. Most of these problems can be worked through in a couple of sessions.

Another aspect of My Plant Therapist is I make professional-grade CBD topicals. My most popular item is Da Balm CBD Topical Salve. When I was a massage therapist I had the fortune of learning how to make my own topicals to use on my clients. These became extremely popular both in and out of sessions. I continued to create and sell these to my clients after my massage business closed. I now sell my products to massage therapists to use in their practices. I also make bath fizzes, and salts and have a few new items in the research and development phase. I know the information online can be confusing and it’s hard to know who to trust. This is one of the main reasons I offer complimentary CBD education calls/texts.

I feel what sets me apart from others is my connection to people and my dedication to growing gardeners. I am most proud of creating a unique concept that I know will positively impact my clients’ physical and mental health. I also love that it’s a non-screen activity we all need more of these days. I look forward to continuing to cultivate opportunities for sharing my lifelong love of plants with my community. The hobby of gardening has brought me so much peace and joy for the last 30 years. I am blessed to be able to offer the same positive experience to others.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I see the home horticulture industry gaining even more popularity in the next decade. As we have more and more technology in our lives humans become less grounded. Don’t get me wrong technology is truly marvelous but with it comes a sort of detachment from the natural world.

I see every day how gardening and plants bring this sense of calm to people. Our lifestyles seem to constantly speed up; gardening slows us down. You deliberately have to work with focus and intention. Slowing down is something we all need especially right now.

Pricing:

• Plant Therapy Session Call -$25 (30 min) $50 (60 min)
• Plant Therapy Session On Site – $ 60 (60 min)
• Garden Design – starting at $100
• Gardener Education- starting at $100
• Da Balm CBD Topical Salve- $20-$65 (1-4 ounce jars)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://myplanttherapist.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myplanttherapist/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mygardeningfriend
• Other: https://www.alignable.com/aurora-co/my-plant-therapist-llc