🙂 Name
Ryan Flis
🌱 Garden(s) Owned
Personal Rise Garden & Rise Garden (2 level cloud)
🍳 Hobbies
grilling/cooking, gardening, golf, baseball, football, traveling
🇺🇲 Fun Fact
My favorite state to visit in the US is Connecticut.
🥬 Top tip or trick for a beginner gardener
Don't be afraid to try to grow new things, it is a great way to learn about how you like to garden
🫑 Favorite things to grow
Peppers, lettuce varieties, microgreens, eggplant & various herbs
💪 What's the most challenging gardening experience you've had, and what did you learn from it?
I have learned a lot of my fruiting plants take longer than expected. I tend to keep my house quite cold and as a result the plants take longer to fruit. It has definitely helped me be more patient when growing and also to understand the differences that nature has on plant growth.
🍆 Describe a gardening success story that made you particularly proud.
One of my favorite plants to grow was eggplant. My son for some reason was obsessed with growing eggplant and it ended up working out great for us. He loved it as a snack and even memorized the "recipe" he like to cook eggplant (sea salt, cracked pepper, & olive oil sauteed lightly). :)
🌼 How has gardening positively influenced your well-being and mental health?
I genuinely feel better about myself personally. Small successes like growing fresh lettuce on a monthly basis helps me feel I am contributing to feeding my family healthy food and it also gives me a sense of accomplishment on a regular basis. It keeps me wanted to come back and grow more and more for myself and my family.
🌞 What's your go-to personal mantra or affirmation?
Believe big. I heard this from one of my first CEO's when I lived in NYC and it has stuck with me. The concept is simple: instead of dreaming big believe it. When you believe it, you are far more likely to accomplish your goal and taking the right steps forward than dreaming it.
🪻What's a wellness ritual you've incorporated into your daily routine that you wouldn't want to go without?
One that I have recently started is smelling lavender when I feel stressed. I have been growing 12 lavender plants over the past several weeks and I love to rub my hands through the plants and smell the fragrance when I feel stressed. It gives me an instant sensation of calmness that has really helped me throughout my days.
