Plant portraits by Domonick Gravine. Interview by Gina Jelinski
Plant portraits by Domonick Gravine. Interview by Gina Jelinski
Growing up in the Valley, most of my childhood was spent hopping around to various different nurseries. Some were botanical gardens, or private plant sales in someone’s backyard just as they’re obtaining their business license. Although what I can’t seem to escape are the carnivorous plant exhibits, where I was exposed to beak-leafed pitcher plants; the Sarracenia hybrid, and the uncanny Nepenthes.
What caught my attention out of the collection was the strange existence of the Sundew, most specifically the fan-leafed Tuberous Drosera. A delicate yet robust plant, some only 8 inches tall, whose production of white flowers and rosettes of elliptical leaves fanned out into an unbelievably lucid green aura. I was in enchanted. I started to do my research, and by doing so I discovered Domonick Gravine, the owner of Red Leaf Exotics; a carnivorous plant nursery out of Brooklyn, New York.
I could not be there to visit Domonick (as I am on the West Coast), but he was kind enough to donate his time to answer my questions. He even gave permission to showcase some photographs from the archives of his magical gully of blood-thirsty specimens. I’ve never encountered anything quite like them.
—deep fuchsia glands blushing indigo ammonium, probing and inviting regulatory enzymes. Vermillion amino acids, simple products of digestion. Suggesting that emotional levels of glutamine may just be responsible for the plants insipid appetite. Membrane potential? Moody physiological root systems! Periwinkle violet tongue, a homologue of kinetic biochemical properties.
N. Edwardsiana
Detail (above) of carnivorous macrophylla teeth, jelly exudate beneath lid of N. Truncata red x lowii
Gina Jelinski: Obtaining a relationship with plant life is not a weekly endeavor -it’s an every day affair. An obsession. One that brings us all closer to our primal selves. Can you recall when it was that your fascination with carnivorous plants began?
Dominick Gravine: Since I could walk, I’d always been fascinated with nature! Around age ten, my curiosity was taken by this very strange clump of leaves & roots that was just thrown into a neighbor’s compost pile. I didn’t grow plants at this point, but something inside of me decided to tie a rope around the little plant and drag it on home. I found a clear patch in the woods behind our house, and planted it. This was my secret garden that I visited everyday! I added some other plants my mom gave me, as leftovers from her garden had always grown so bountiful. Over time, I’d realized that indeed the large mystery clump had begun to produce a beautiful purple flora. Itwas an Iris. I was fascinated instantly, and felt complete satisfaction that I had helped this flower bloom. I felt as if it was thanking me. As my passion for plants grew, I started collecting more. Eventually I found my first Venus flytrap, but it was the odd ball amongst them that caught my attention. Behold…a tropical pitcher plant, the uncanny Nepenthes. I took it home, did my research, and instantly became addicted.
Pictured above: N. hurrelliana, and N. Spectabilis
DG (continued): Fast forward to 2015…I took a trip to the worlds best Nepenthes nursery in Australia, Exotica Plants, run by Geoff and Andrea Mansell. This was on the top of my list of of things to do. While pruning some of their spectacular Nepenthes specimens, I found myself in this surreal moment of knowing that for the rest of my life I want to be surrounded by these odd creatures, and created my own business from it. I knew this was the only way of having as many plants as I desired.
GJ: Tell us about the specific types of creatures that appear to be attracted to carnivorous plants.
DG: Amongst the tropical pitcher plants, termites are attracted to Nepenthes albomarginata; which is named for the white collar around the opening of the trap. The termites find this irresistible and come to feast on the plant tissue itself. It doesn’t exactly harm the plant, and they surely trap and digest enough of them in the process. Nepenthes lowii attracts a mammal called the shrew, which defecates in it’s pitchers while eating a sugary substance (called exudate) from under the pitcher lid. The plant uses the available nitrogen. Nepenthes seem to be a little more specific in what they attract, compared to other carnivorous plants. Drosera (sundews), Pinguicula (butterwart), and Sarracenia (North American pitcher plants) seem to capture a variety of insects and small invertebrates with their trapping mechanisms.
Nepenthes jamban with spider, detail of Sundew Drosera wateri, and zombie fly in a N. Jacquelineae
GJ: We’d all love to know about the smells in a carnivorous plant nursery!
DG: The carnivorous plant greenhouse is very sensual! There certainly is a mixture of interesting aromas. When the tropical pitcher plants bloom they have a very pungent odor. Heliamphora smell like honey. The Nepenthes produce this musty sweet smell that I love, specifically the lowii hybrids. I like to go around and stick my face in them and take a big whiff!
GJ: What a rush! Had you many odd experiences with any of the plants?
DG: Of course, I’ve accidentally dumped the digestive fluids on me, and that can smell like, well, as you could probably guess, like a lavatory.
Nepenthes gully @ Red Leaf Exotics
GJ: Are there many that flower? If so, what are some of your favorites?
DG: Many carnivorous plants produce very attractive flowers. I would have to go with Heliamphora (marsh pitcher plant) for my absolute favorite flower. They remind me of a lily that hangs gracefully from the stems. I also love the intense red flower of a species of butterwart called Pinguicula laueana.
GJ: What complications do you most frequently monitor at your nursery?
DG: I give the Plants hours and hours of care everyday. Moisture and temperature are monitored most often. The plants enjoy being watered every morning, and I make sure the temperature isn’t too hot or cold, depending on the season.
Dominick tip-toeing around the greenhouse
GJ: If for some reason you were only able to keep two types of carnivorous plants, which ones would they be, and can you reveal to us (in detail) about their origins?
DG: If I had to pick two different genus, I would choose Nepenthes Veitchii-Bario and Heliamphora sarraceniodes. The specific variety of N. Veitchii is from a small region called Bario on the island of Borneo. My favorite thing in the entire world is my variant that produces round, red pitchers, with a huge flared peristome heavily streaked in red. I grew mine from seed, and lucked out with a very rare variety. It looks like a candy cane (and it’s also my company logo). The marsh pitcher plant, H. sarracenoides, is endemic to the Tepui Mountains of Venezuela. It’s just so bizarre looking and the deep red pitchers really excite me…red is my favorite color, after all.
N. Veitchii-Bario
GJ: And what a mystical color it is…speaking of such a hue -hypothetically, if Seymour Krelborn, Skid Row’s own botanical enthusiast, were here right now, what advice would you have for him, and -what might you thank him for?
DG: I would tell Seymour he should have propagated more of his flesh eating plant and fed the world to them! Also the plant deserved a greenhouse. I’d also thank him for his initial dedication of blood and sweat to serve the Audrey II’s hunger.
GJ: The plant swiftly seduces us with it’s need to over-indulge, as if each meal were its last. We see a reflection of our own behaviors in the plant; the thirst to be recognized often takes it’s toll. Now that we’re on the subject, might you have any secrets to reveal to us, on the chronicles of love itself?
DG: I don’t think there are any love secrets. Feel good and treat everything in your world with kindness. Most importantly, love yourself. The universe will light up when you feel the emotion of love. You don’t have to have the physical manifestation to feel it either. Go inside and feel love and love will blossom all around you.
GJ: Clearly you would have been a beneficial guide for Seymour. But, what exactly is ‘desire’? It is programmed, inherited, or simply a self-motivated trait?
DG: This really strikes a cord with me. Not everyday, but many mornings (when I’m showering), I write the word DESIRE on the glass shower door with my finger. Desire is everything. Desire is the beginning to everything we want. Desire drives us. If I just plainly want something…I can do without it, but if I desire it, I will stop at nothing to experience whatever it is!
Dominick with the luscious Heliamphora
GJ: I admire your humble ritual(s) of keeping your focus on desire itself. Often, some of us forget that we depend on our desires to keep us moving. We become stagnant, and forget that there are so many things around us to keep us passionate, to keep us going.
DG: For me, desire was self-motivated. I showed myself if I desired something, that I could have it. Once I saw the pattern of how everything I desired eventually came to me, I practiced having more things to desire and look forward to. And, I sing to my plants every single day.
N. Flava x sibuyanensis
GJ: What are some books that we would find on your shelves?
DG: So, I have only one carnivorous plant book –The Savage Garden by Peter D’ Amato. It’s an iconic read for the carnivorous plant enthusiast! I am very much into metaphysics as well. Other than that, I mainly read online plant material.
GJ: …do you prefer orange marmalade, or boysenberry jam?
DG: Orange marmalade all the way. Love me some bright citrus flavors! Tastes great slathered on some grilled salmon!
GJ: Mmm. Yes. Alright, back on topic…can those of us in Southern California successfully maintain a carnivorous plant garden?
DG: Oh yes! I don’t have much experience with your climate, but some are more suited than others. I know many growers who grow Sarracenia outdoors and Nepenthes in simple greenhouse setups. Things like Heliamphora and Nepenthes really do best in controlled environments.
GJ: Could you elaborate on ‘controlled environments’?
DG: Nepenthes, Helaimphora, and few others love greenhouses or indoor enclosures such as grow tents, where the humidity and light levels are high. T5 and LED grow light fixtures can be suspended over the plants and a humidifier can be added for proper moisture. The plants prefer a photo period of 12-14 hours and consistent temperatures to thrive. This can prove difficult in most outdoor areas, unless you live in a climate such as Hawaii. Many species do like night time temperature drops. Most regions in the US get too dark and cool in the winter for the plants to continue to thrive, but they would bounce back in the spring once the light and temperatures rise.
GJ: Aside from various diptera, are there any other types of small creatures that you have mysteriously found being digested in one of your monstrous leafy beauties?
DG: Any local insects like cockroaches, centipedes, butterflies, moths… unfortunately no mice yet! One time I found two centipedes intertwined…they were saying goodbye to one another as the plant digested them.
GJ: Can you tell us about your least favorite job from your past?
DG: The worst job I ever had…well, I attended college in Hawaii for a year and after deciding I wanted something less far away from home, I returned to Pennsylvania for a few months (not knowing what I was going to do). In the meantime I had to get a job. I was hired by a local factory. I poured metal dye cast for machine parts. Literally like the opposite of everything I’m attracted to. I had to wear long sleeves and jeans with bulky boots. I frequently got burned, and it was so dark and depressing inside of the factory. It was not my cup of tea, especially since it didn’t feel purposeful to me.
GJ: I’d love to know about your thoughts on the subconscious realm.
DG: I’m a Pisces, so I’m all about dreams and outer realms. I’m very connected to my dreams, as there are numerous things I’ve dreamt that have blossomed into reality. I had various dreams of visiting Exotica Plants in Australia, hanging with Geoff and Andrea in their amazing greenhouses. One day, that dream came true -and faster than I could have imagined. I tend to ignore nightmares.
GJ: How do your dreams affect your everyday, and do you keep a dream journal?
DG: I don’t keep a dream journal, but I do write my future, so to speak. I get caught up in what I want to experience and how that’s going to feel when it manifests. I have to say creating the future and focusing there is a lot more productive (and useful) than recording the present and past.
GJ: Outside of plant life, where do your other musings of nefarious pleasures depart from?
DG: I find great inspiration and motivation through the talents of others. When I see an artist creating something amazing it drives me crazy, motivates me. Knowing that anything we put our minds to is possible, is how I find inspiration in life itself. The circles of beginning to end and back again are fascinating. I find inspiration in contrast too. By contrast I mean when I observe something that I dislike or don’t prefer, I’m inspired into positive action.
GJ: What might your plans be for the coming summer? Any major preparations at hand at Red Leaf Exotics?
DG: This year is the busiest year of my life! I’ve only been in business for a year now and it’s going so well. I’ve recently made plans to expand the nursery. I’m currently right in the middle of relocating to a new location, in Eastern Tennessee.
DG: My best friend and business partner, Jerry Brady, has stepped on board as well. He will help operate the business with me. We have a house, and the first of two large greenhouses have been erected. There will be a lot to do, not only on the greenhouses, but on the property as well. I desire to create a place so magical, that people will come from across the globe just to experience it.
GJ: What advice do you have to give to beginners in horticulture, specifically those who work with carnivorous plants?
DG: ENJOY! It’s such an amazing thing to get involved in, and you’ll constantly be surrounded by beauty. It takes time to learn the exact requirements to grow different carnivorous plants, which is why you must absorb as much knowledge as you can. Most importantly, spend all your time with your plants. If you can visit their native habitats, this will aid in you getting the feel for what they love.
DG: I always encourage visiting different growers to garner perspective. We all have different energy, and ways of loving our plants! Never give up. It took me years to perfect ideal Nepenthes conditions, and I’m still learning to this day. Be proud that you have a passion for the heart of nature. It’s in these times that green souls are needed most, as what you’re embarking on is a magical journey filled with some of the best feelings we are capable of experiencing.
N. lowii and N. Jacquelineae
Upon your bewildering interest in these creatures, please contact Domonick directly to schedule your appointment for a visit. Don’t hesitate to visit the RED LEAF EXOTICS website, especially if you’d like to special order some carnivorous babies, learn more about how to care for your Nepenthes, and don’t forget to register for an account if you’re really serious about taking your curiosity to the next level.