Joe Bagley, nicknamed ‘Jungle boy’, has amassed over 1,400 house plants in his one bedroom home. With every surface in Joe’s house being covered in plants, Joe has effectively converted his home into a botanical garden. From the bathtub to the dining table there is barely enough room to walk through his own miniature jungle oasis. Over the last two years, he is estimated to have spent more than 3,500 Euros ($3,800 USD) on growing his home plant collection. Acknowledging his own ‘addiction’, his inherent need to live among 1,400 plants is admittedly not as bad of a thing as one might suspect.
Joe’s fascination with plants began when he was 13 years old.
His grandmother gifted him a spider plant cutting and Joe’s love for plants has been growing ever since.
Five years later ‘Jungle Boy’ moved into his own home. Only having 100 plants at the time, Joe’s collection has been steadily increasing ever since.
Most of the plants that Joe brings into his home are dying. He takes to the task of nurturing these dying plants back to full health.
“I will buy plants that are reduced in price because they’re half dead and nurse them back to health. After a couple of months, they look brilliant.” Joe told Kennedy News.
It takes Joe several hours each day to water his collection of plants.
Ranging from tropical plants, cacti, succulents, and flowers, there are seemingly few plants Joe does not have.
He has even reported developing a sixth sense for them. Joe says that he sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night with an inherent need to water one of them.
“People have started to see me like a plant hospital. If a plant has died, people bring it to me and I revive it and give it back a few months later.” Joe reported in the same interview.
Joe’s hobby is also reflected into his working life.
You guessed it, Joe works at a plant nursery. It would be sort of strange if he had any other profession, though.
Joe is sure that his plants stay on a healthy yearly cycle as well.
Demonstrating his dedication to the plants, Joe lowers the temperature of his home to below 16°C (60°F) in the winter.
This is the best way to ensure they live a healthy life.
‘Jungle Boy’ dreams of one day opening a ‘jungle cafe’ complete with several hundred plants.
Joe is also generous enough to share all of his plant knowledge on his own website.
Many view Joe’s obsession with plants as unusual and strange. In reality it isn’t all that weird. House plants are proven to boost mood, productivity, and actively clean the air around you. After all, it is human nature to live among plants. Biologically more strange is our sudden transition to living surrounded by a concrete jungle instead of a plant jungle. Joe really could be onto something great here. Also, be sure to check out his webpage for a great collection of all things plant related.