This TikTok Plant Expert Will Make You Fall In Love With Gardening

Marcus Bridgewater, the green-thumbed guru behind the Garden Marcus TikTok account, is proof that anyone can learn to love gardening if they put in the time, love, and effort. He admitted to Domino that he wasn’t a natural when it came to caring for plants. In fact, he killed his first houseplants, which were given to him as a housewarming gift six years ago. But Bridgewater didn’t get discouraged—he instead vowed to learn everything he could about caring for greenery and is now bringing the rest of the world along for the ride.

“I realized that you can’t make anything grow, but you can foster an environment where growth is a byproduct of living,” he told Domino. “That was a profound life lesson.” 

Bridgewater passed that life lesson, among others, on to his community via his problem-solving and good habits organization Choice Forward, which he co-founded in 2017. And when TikTok began to blow up last year, Bridgewater saw yet another opportunity to pass on positivity and garden love.

Since posting his first TikTok in December 2019, Bridgewater has built a following of over 560,000 users who rely on him for tips on gardening and general life advice. Luckily for them, Bridgewater has plenty of both.

Sometimes Garden Marcus encourages us to give plants like aloe a shot because it’s easy to grow and has medicinal benefits.

Other times, Garden Marcus reminds us to put positivity into the world to help manage our stress and anxiety and keep us moving forward.

Bridgewater’s videos have garnered over 5 million likes, so it’s clear that his formula of plants + positivity = a bounty of smiles is working. And during such a tumultuous time where life can feel utterly overwhelming, having a soothing plant guru to virtually lean on is something everyone can appreciate.