There are a number of tools that we use to make all of your plant dreams come true and one of those is the Soltech brand, and their grow lights. Grace, the brains behind Fresh Space, had the pleasure of interviewing with the Soltech team back in the spring, and we wanted to share that conversation here too. Check it out:

Q: Tell us a little about how you got started.

A: My love of plants started when my husband and I bought our first home. Planning, planting, and tending to a garden grew a love and appreciation deep inside me for plants. In my garden, I have a small section dedicated to a few vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, beans, kale, and lettuce and then most of my garden is a combination of perennial shrubs and flowers and annual flowers. Living in Edmonton, Alberta, our outdoor growing season is delightful but short-lived: about 140 days out of the year.  I love getting into my garden as soon as it's warm enough outside.  I love to feel how the sun's warmth and intensity change as my part of the world comes into spring. I get excited when I see the buds on the trees starting to swell and when I notice the tops of my tulips poking through the earth. I look forward to the rebirth, renewal, and promise that springtime represents. 

For me, my garden is a space where I can create joy, display joy, and share the joy with others. 

My passion for tropical plants became truly apparent after spending some time visiting family in the Philippines, nestled in the majestic jungle. I remember one evening, in particular, staring out at the jungle, and noticing how I could feel the energy emanating from the gigantic, magical jungle trees. I could feel the energy of the jungle vibrating into my soul and it was overwhelming in a glorious way. I thought my heart was going to explode. It brought me to tears. I knew then that I needed to share this energy and feeling with others. 

When I returned home to Canada, I dove right into indoor houseplants. As mentioned, because our outdoor growing season was so short, adding indoor plants to my home was a way I could continue to "garden" and tend to plants even in the winter months. I researched as much as I could about indoor houseplant care. I joined online plant groups, read many books, magazines, and articles dedicated to houseplant care, googled plant care and tips, and watched many videos so I could grow my understanding of keeping plants indoors. 

My pursuit of plants also landed me a dream job with a wonderful little plant shop called Botaniful as a part-time employee. I loved working in that shop. As a mother of 4 kids, going to work in this little lush plant shop was like a tropical getaway for me.  Being so passionate about plants made it easy for me to talk about them. I discovered I was great at educating customers about houseplant care. I loved sharing my knowledge and tips to help plant parents be successful in their plant journey. I enjoyed talking to people and connecting with them. I found many similarities between outdoor gardening and indoor houseplant care and the biggest one of them all was the importance of light (sunlight and directional exposure.) I worked with Botaniful for 3 1/2 years as a part-time employee and then decided to take the leap and apply my passion, knowledge, creativity, and understanding of plant requirements to a career and business of my own.

I started my own Interior Plant Consulting and Design company, Fresh Space by Grace. As an Interior Plant Consultant and Designer, I enhance the happiness and well-being of workspaces by freshening up spaces with beautiful living plants.

Q: What is one thing you'd wish you'd learned sooner in the Plantscaping space?

A: Have a good understanding of the light in the space as that will have a huge impact on the type of plants to choose, the frequency of watering and even the type/size of planter best for the space. 

Also, don't be afraid to put yourself out there! Don't be shy to make connections and meet people.

Q: What aspects of Soltech Lights motivated you to choose us? 

A: I have witnessed the positive ways plants respond to Soltech lights.  In my own home, I have seen my plants flourish under these lights. The growth is vigorous and the plants look strong and perky, as compared to areas in my home where the plants are not under these lights or are in lower light areas. 

Q: How has utilizing Soltech Lights impacted the way you design a space? What do you like about Soltech Lights? 

A: There are a myriad of plant grow lights that are available but I honestly love the Soltech lights the most. Specifically, what sets Soltech lights apart from the other grow lights is the pleasing ambient light they give off. There are wonderful and powerful lights available in the market that will also encourage plants to grow strong and healthy, however, some give off such a harsh glow (either in a pink/purple hue or a cold white glow) that it is uncomfortable for me to be around. 

Design-wise, the Soltech Light looks great and is super strong. When adding plants indoors, especially in areas that do not have enough light to sustain living plants, one needs to be mindful of purposely adding a light source.  When you are trying to create an aesthetic plant space, the quality of the light or the ability to "feed" the plants is key, but so also is the mood or the feeling that the lights give off to us who share the space with the plants, as being very important as well. This is why I choose the Soltech Light over any other grow light.

It really is the Interior Designer's grow light.

My clients who have Soltech lights as part of their plant installments are so pleased with the quality of the light and are happy with the healthy and vigorous growth of the plants. Many customers who purchased the Aspect and Vita lights from me when I was still with Botaniful have returned a number of times to purchase additional lights for other areas of their homes after witnessing the positive ways in which their plants have responded to the light.

Thank you Soltech, for creating such a fantastic product, that we continue to use in all of our light-deprived projects! Soltech has very kindly provided a 15% off discount code to the Fresh Space community when you use the code FRESHSPACE. Happy shopping!