We live in a world where everything needs to be done yesterday. Izwe Nkosi believes gardening offers something very different: the chance to slow down and move at the pace of nature.
Izwe is the gardener behind For Plants Sake, where well over 100,000 people follow his garden and allotment. He grew up in South Africa surrounded by his father's mangoes, avocados, grapes and roses, worked in garden centres himself, and eventually started sharing his own gardening journey online. Then a simple video about growing potatoes reached millions of views and everything changed.
But this isn't really an episode about becoming a successful gardening influencer.
James and Izwe explore why gardening can be such a powerful antidote to the speed of modern life: getting us moving, giving the mind somewhere to settle, reconnecting us with nature and creating opportunities for people to connect with one another.
They talk about burnout and our relentless pursuit of productivity, loneliness and the friendships formed on allotments, gardening with children, growing your own food and why Izwe believes we should think less about constant productivity and more about fruitfulness — recognising that, like nature, human beings also need periods of rest.
Izwe also talks about authenticity online, why he sees people as different plants requiring different environments in which to thrive, and how something as ordinary as weeding has become a form of meditation for him.
And there are plenty of practical ideas to take away too, including the three foods Izwe thinks everyone should grow at least once, what to plant as autumn approaches and some simple ways to begin experiencing the garden differently.
Find Izwe:
Search For Plants Sake on Instagram, TikTok and social media.
Fancy getting moving too? Find us at www.jimsgym.fitness
Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:37 - Meet Izwe Nkosi and For Plants Sake
00:04:17 - How gardening came into Izwe's life
00:05:52 - Gardening at the pace of nature
00:08:30 - Why younger people are rediscovering gardening
00:13:54 - Growing your own food
00:15:39 - Allotments, community and loneliness
00:17:49 - Gardening as movement and exercise
00:20:20 - Productivity versus fruitfulness
00:23:00 - Gardening with children
00:24:57 - The potato video that went viral
00:26:24 - Social media success without chasing influence
00:28:18 - Why Izwe sees people like plants
00:30:13 - Authenticity and staying real online
00:34:38 - Three foods everyone should grow
00:36:44 - What to plant going into autumn
00:39:36 - Kale and eating with the seasons
00:44:29 - Weeding as meditation and how to get started
00:48:01 - Where to find For Plants Sake