Kaleigh Brillon, Author at Epic Gardening

About Kaleigh Brillon

Kaleigh Brillon

Writer & Plant Lover

I attribute my love of plants to my grandfather. He and my grandmother always had a vegetable garden, and I spent a lot of my time at their house looking at the plants and making mud pies with the nursery pots. Eventually, my parents started their own garden, and I always ended up being the one caring for it the most.

It wasn’t until a plant biology class in my second year of college that I became obsessive about plants. I had to grow zinnias in the greenhouse for an assignment, and that greenhouse quickly became my favorite place to be. My project partner let me have her zinnias when the assignment was over, and from that point on, I’ve always had something growing. Every year I grow vegetables in a raised bed and wildflowers in flower beds.

I’m a freelance writer living in west Texas. I graduated with an English degree, but I often wish I had gone the route of studying plants. If I’m not in my garden, I watch videos about plants while crocheting or attempting to knit.

Q. What’s your favorite plant?

My favorite plant is lantana. I respect all the color variations, but I’m partial to the yellow, orange, and pink variety. I love that the clusters of flowers seem to change every day and that the bright flowers stand out from the dark green leaves so well.

Q. What is your “spirit vegetable”?

My spirit vegetable would have to be peppers. The package says it needs full sun, but it thrives when it has partial shade here in west Texas. As a born and raised Texan, you’d think I could handle the heat, but I need all the shade I can get.

Q. What’s the most unusual plant you’ve grown?

Although it’s not “unusual,” I’d have to say it was a jalapeño plant that came straight from the sun. I’ve never had jalapeños that hot before in my life. They absorbed every last bit of heat we experienced during that extra hot summer. To this day, I still shudder when I think of that biting into that burger I put the jalapeño on. I’ve been afraid of spicy peppers ever since and can’t eat them without great hesitation first.

Tillandsia Ionantha: How To Grow A Happy Little Air Plant

March 12, 2023 by Kaleigh Brillon

Tillandsia ionantha mounted on a piece of bark

If you’ve spent any time looking at posts from house plant content creators, you’re probably familiar with the Tillandsia ionantha air plant. Also known as the blushing bride sky plant, this species of air plant is known for its beautiful pink and red hues and gorgeous pink and purple flowers. The sky plant is an … Read more