Dan Yeo is the founder of Plants by Dan and offers botanical design for indoor spaces. His work has spanned bakeries, restaurants, breweries and huge retail spaces. Dan’s installations create lush breathtaking oases and are inspired by his love of the wild.

We met Dan for an early morning run high above Bristol before heading to his workshop to sit down and talk.

How did you end up working in botanical design?

I was born and raised in Cornwall and have spent a huge amount of my time outdoors in nature. My dad was a greengrocer and ran his own business in North Cornwall, so I've always had a connection with nature and love being surrounded by plants. Initially, I ventured into marketing communications, but it never really sat right. I was always off doing other volunteer projects and working on my own allotment, so I decided to change career paths.

I initially wanted to go into landscape design, and study with the RHS to gain a diploma in horticulture. I decided to go to Stockholm, and be an apprentice to some gardeners in the city. I then returned to Bristol to begin gardening there. Then lockdown happened, and I lost all of my work. In that time I began to sell houseplants in a small grocery store that remained open. As there were no plant shops open, I was really busy and my little business really took off. At the same time I began working as a delivery driver for The Bristol Loaf Bakery. The owner was setting up a new site and asked me if I wanted to do the plants for the space. The rest is history - it was the biggest project to date. So many people saw it and wanted to create their version in their own space. That was the beginning of Plants by Dan.

Tell us about Plants by Dan

Essentially, I offer plant design and installations to help transform spaces into a lush, green oasis. I try to look at the space and imagine a similar environment in nature. For example, if you have a room where the only light source is a skylight, the light conditions will mimic a forest canopy. You have access to a specific amount of light for a specific time during the day. I’ll follow an under-planting scheme similar to that of a rainforest, introducing climbers that will kind of stick to the walls and clamber, eventually filling the space. This is a scenario I had in a recent installation and design at Carmel restaurant in London. It's also about understanding how the plants will grow into the space, imagining it in five months, a year, or two years eventually filling the space.

It’s important to think of spaces as having their own ecosystems. A bakery for instance is warm with high levels of humidity, and some plants will absolutely love it. I think that people are slightly risk averse. I've met other plant designers who wouldn't dare put something in space. For me, it's all about observation and understanding how something grows. You need to have a connection to it and trust that it will be ok in that space; you've got to be brave.

Up until now, there’s been a standard practice for incorporating plants in pots into shared spaces. A key part of my practice is to be involved from the initial concept working with designers, working with architects and business owners to ensure that plants are part of the wider design. For example, in a restaurant it may involve making sure that you have space behind banquette seating or larger tree planters that can be worked into dining areas where people eat and hang out. Or perhaps thinking about how you can add wiring so that plants can eventually create a canopy overhead. I've had to push for this when working with clients, because it's quite a new concept incorporating plants into the design so that they work with the architecture of the building.

 Tell us about the places you find inspiration for your work.

Anywhere in nature. When I'm on the walk or hiking or out in nature, I'm absorbing and getting inspired. It can be a hill walk, a stroll through a meadow or simply looking at what's in someone's front garden and thinking about how it can be incorporated into interior spaces. It could also be a piece of art, in the colours and the textures, I’m always making notes. I visited Vallarta Botanical Garden in Mexico, and it was the most incredible garden I've ever been to, I took so much from the space. There are limitations in the UK as to what will survive and what will thrive.

What’s next?

I'd love to design a space abroad. It would be a welcome challenge sourcing and working with people from a different culture, in a completely new environment and ecosystem, with its own climate. Somewhere warm would allow me to do indoor and outdoor planting and help me understand the seasons of other climates. I would love to do a large-scale installation as well. I would be thinking of huge trees, to create a completely immersive space where the planting is the focal point and main element of the design. Perhaps it would be in a hotel, large orangery or glasshouse. 

 We went for a run this morning. How else do you like to start the day?

I think when you're running your own business, there's a huge amount to juggle. I have to start the day with peace and no noise. I'm very lucky that my partner is a late riser. It means I do get that time to myself in the morning where I don't look at my phone or think about what's coming up. It's just me and my cup of coffee. The windows are open if it's a sunny day, and I take some time to have a moment to myself before the day begins.

In the last month what is the best thing you’ve:

Eaten? I've just come back from Corfu, where we went to a great restaurant. I had a really simple tomato salad with a lemon and olive oil dressing with pickled caper leaves which I'd never tried before. Oh, wow, they were delicious! That was then followed by whole sea bass with smoked aubergine.

Listened to?

Tom Rusmassun - He makes brilliant, euphoric queer dance music which is really personable and offers a refreshing queer perspective. I watched him with friends at the Colour Factory in Hackney Wick, and he's one of those performers who's even better live! He has a sound that just resonates with an audience that's looking for an authentic connection. He's still touring and I'd definitely recommend him.

Read?

Memoriam by Alice Win - I've been listening to this book as an audiobook. It's set in the during the First World War and is about two young guys who are enlisted and are fighting on the front line. The story follows their love story and thehorror of the trenches.

Watched?

Scavengers Reign - It’s an animated series on Netflix. I think it’s probably some of the most beautiful animations I've ever seen. It follows the crew of a damaged space freighter, who are stranded on a planet that has the weirdest and most beautiful flora and fauna. It’s very moving.

Dan drinks a Pentire Seaward & tonic, served over ice with a grapefruit garnish. Find the recipe here.

Discover Pentire Seaward.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Check out Dan's work at Plants by Dan

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Photography by Ben Pryor.

Interview by Pentire.