Jodianne Beckford on pivoting her creative practice and building a community around her love for plants

Jodianne is a photographer and creator who was able to forge a creative path that celebrates the relationship between plants and mental health, all while navigating a global pandemic. We had the pleasure of talking with her about her journey and the importance of nature in her life and her creative practice.

When her plans for continuing with a podcasting project were interrupted by the pandemic, Jodianne started doing group hikes and developing a very special love for plants and horticulture.

This interest in the world of plants had been brewing even before the pandemic, but lockdowns and social distancing ended up being the perfect opportunity for her to adapt and invest more time in a new project and business idea, Noire Girls Plant, where she offers plant consultations and different products such as soil mix, planting kits and essential oils.

Suddenly things started to fall into place. Jodianne was able to adapt to the new circumstances while building this space for her community to find the beautiful connection between the nourishment, growth and blossom of a plant and that of themselves. When we asked her about the lessons that will guide her from now on, she said:

“I've always doubted myself on so many different levels and so many different ways. And now seeing all the different things I've done, it just shows me that I can do it. I feel like I'm going to do more in terms of saying ‘yes’ to more things. I used to say ‘no’ because of my fear of failure or my fear of not being enough, but now I will keep saying yes to things and trying and failing and being okay with those failures.”

Jodianne’s journey turned into a time of self-exploration in which she realized what she is actually capable of. She created a new project she is passionate about, and also built a supportive community that celebrates Black creators and initiatives, as well as nature and wellbeing.

At the end of our conversation she shared with us her perspective on the COVID era as being a sort of dormant season in which we can also rest and get ready, knowing that new things will be born out of this in some way.

“When the first lockdown happened I just dove right into plants. I said ‘hey what do plants do when they're in the dormant season?’ because this is kind of like a dormant season. Not a lot of growth is going to be happening but it's like you were preparing yourself for that burst of growth that happens in the spring, for plants.

Nature trusts itself to know that: Yes, I'm losing my beauty, all my leaves are gone, but I'm trusting the process that they will come back. Every spring my leaves come back bigger and better and more colourful and more vibrant.  But you have to learn to let go to be able to trust that better things are coming”

Follow Noire Girls Plant on their instagram to learn more about this wonderful project, and maybe start your own green corner at home!