We caught up with Mind, Body & Soil's Founder, George Williams, for an insight into his passion for plants and his journey of starting a business. George shares our love for healthy active living and the coast. Read the conversation below.  

 

Tell us about your relationship with plants.

It is fairly deep rooted, my family run a plant nursery in Cornwall and I have been helping out there from a very young age and have subsequently been drawn to plants throughout my life. I am in love with Magnolia’s and am my happiest exploring woods and gardens in spring. My home is a bit of a jungle and I take great pleasure in looking after my plants and watching them grow, my Ficus has grown 2 ft this summer!

I built an app to help people look after their plants and Mind, Body & Soil is my attempt to share a passion for plants and beautiful produce, and the benefits of both, with our members.

Where did the Mind, Body & Soil dream come from?

Our Green Relief initiative in lockdown started it all off. We were selling plants that would otherwise have gone to waste when the garden centres closed and donated to the NHS with each plant sold. So much of the feedback we got was around the profound positive effects our plants were having on recipients’ mental health, giving them a moment of solace in tough times. I was simultaneously experiencing the very same thing, doing a lot of growing myself in lockdown, and I wanted to build a brand that focussed on engaging with plants and the positive effects they can have on your wellbeing, we aim to send people a bitesize botanical boost each month and help people learn about plants and personal wellbeing.

Can you bust a plant myth for us?

Not so much a myth but an unbelievable fact. We have been doing a lot of research into how and why plants are good for us as humans. There is a microbe in all soil, Mycobacterium vaccae, that when disturbed by the human hand and inhaled, triggers a serotonin release and improves our mood, so when you are repotting or digging around in the garden you will be getting a chemical boost as you go. A little incentive from nature to encourage us to keep growing and get our hands dirty.

What's inspiring you at the moment?

Authentic and honest brands that are true to themselves. I’ve been really inspired by a lot of field to fork restaurants in Cornwall and Somerset I have been to this summer. Food always tastes better when you can see where it has come from. I had a tomato the other day that was so delicious it has sadly rendered the average supermarket tomato tasteless.

I am really thrilled that we have grown our very own mini-herb garden for this months box. It is a Mind, Body & Soil first and something we want to do a lot more of.