Plants make people grow

Katie Iarca is the founder of Rooted in Respite, a nature-based experiences company bringing people together through plants and creativity.

Katie wasn’t always a plant person. But as she learned more about plants through her pandemic plant business, she discovered something bigger: caring for plants can help us slow down, reconnect with nature, engage our senses, and make space to simply be.

After earning her Horticultural Therapy Certificate from the University of Tennessee, Katie began creating plant experiences for workplaces, schools, community groups, and private gatherings. Her workshops blend the joy of working with plants with the principles of therapeutic horticulture, an evidence-informed practice that uses plant-based activities to stimulate the senses, lower cortisol, and increase dopamine.

Katie believes everyone can experience the joy of plants, plant lovers and killers alike. Her hope is to help people grow alongside their plants, one experience at a time, and create a more peaceful, plant-filled world.

Her motto: Plants Make People Grow