Scott Cain is the author of Boys with Plants: 50 Boys and the Plants they Love, who lives in Perth in Australia. He has over 200 plants on his balcony, loves Kew Gardens in London and would love to visit South America to see… more plants!
Where are you from originally?
Perth, Western Australia.
And where do you live now?
Still in Perth (best city in the world!) with my cat Jack and my boyfriend Robert in a two bedroom apartment with a huuuuge North-facing (that’s the equivalent of South-facing in the UK) balcony that is completely full of over 200 tropical plants and succulents.
What do you love about London and why?
The two things I love most about London is spending time with my bestie, who lives there, and Kew Gardens. When I need some space I can escape to the Palm House or the Princess of Wales Conservatory and dream about being able to grow tropical plants as amazing as that in my own home.
What’s the idea behind Boys With Plants?
It’s a pretty simple concept, it’s all about guys and plants! I try to show a variety of guys from all over the world of every background. Loving plants is truly a universal experience and brings us all together! I also choose a variety of contexts: Boys in their plant-filled homes, in greenhouses and gardens, in forests and jungles, etc and with a variety of different types of plants.
How did it come about?
I have another plants-themed Instagram account, @TropicaLoco where I showcase my own plants and a ‘plant-friend’ I met through it on Insta, @JamesIpy and I used to share images between each other of handsome men with plants. Then I decided more people might like to see them and on October 3, 2016 Boys with Plants was born. From that concept I created the coffee-table book of the same name featuring 50 boys and the plants they love. It includes bios of each gardener, tips on selecting, growing, and styling plants and great photography. I’m also bring the Boys with Plants community together on my website where I feature a boy once a week, have guest bloggers in a section called ‘green thumbs’ once a fortnight and sell t-shirts, mugs, art prints and coming soon, Boys with Plants Underwear! Check out boyswithplants.com
What was the last theatre show you saw?
My best friend travels from London to Perth each year to do the Perth Fringe Festival. He’s a GP and comedian and has sold out shows in Edinburgh, Melbourne Comedy Festival and Perth Fringe. He is Doctor Ahmed and his latest show was called Cabaret Consultations and was hilarious, definitely worth checking out when he tours it in the UK!
What is your guilty pleasure and why?
Survivor, I’m obsessed! Maybe it’s all those half naked men competing in their underwear in a beautiful jungle but I can’t get enough!
Biggest extravagance?
Hm, in the house-plant world the variegated monstera (swiss-cheese plant) is one of the most coveted plants you can add to your collection. I bid for a tiny one with only two small leaves on eBay and ended up paying more than AU$350 for it. Fortunately now it’s taller than I am and growing like crazy so definitely worth it
What has been the highlight of your career so far and why?
I think publishing the book is pretty awesome. I have really enjoyed seeing all the places in the world that the book is being bought as well, with online sales now it really is accessible everywhere and it’s so nice that it’s being so well received! Being featured in Vogue Magazine and The Times London have been pretty great too!
If you could go back in time which year would you choose and why?
I would love to go back to the 70s during the first wave of house plants being in fashion. They did such awesome innovative things with interiors then, bringing in nature and making it part of everyday life. I try to bring elements of that into my life now.
What’s the best party you’ve ever been to and what made it so good?
It is terrible to say it’s one of my own parties? Every year for the past three years I’ve done a ‘Crap Secret Santa’ at home with lots of good friends, mostly out on my balcony. It’s Summer in Australia at Christmas and usually pretty hot so people dress to impress, re-gift the worst gift they’ve ever received, have cocktails, dance and have fun.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Boyfriends come and go but besties are forever. Until you get married, then husband trump besties. It’s a fine line… haha!
Who is your LGBT+ hero and why?
A hero of mine would be the Australian Olympic diver, Matthew Mitcham. He was the first out and proud Olympian to win a gold medal for Australia in the 2008 Summer Olympics and being able to truly be himself in a time when so many sports people thought they had to remain in the closet is very inspiring.
Who are the most entertaining people you follow on social media?
Nicole Byer is such a great comedian, I can’t get enough of her on TV, in ‘Nailed it’ and especially her podcast, Why Won’t You Date Me? She’s very funny on social media too, def worth following.
Where in the world would you like to visit before you die and why?
I would like to travel though South America – particularly Colombia and Brazil. I want to see where all the tame little plants we call ‘house-plants’ originate from in the wild and experience the way they see the world in their part of the jungle. What an adventure!
Boys with Plants: 50 Boys and the Plants they Love by Scott Cain is out now, £9.99 from Modern Books, boyswithplants.com
