FOUNDER & CONTENT CREATOR
Dr. Moritz Alexander Picot discovered his passion for gardening over 25 years ago. Inspired by his mother’s love for tending to the family’s garden (zone 8b), Moritz spent countless days with his hands in the soil pulling weeds, transplanting young seedlings, pruning dead leaves, and more!
Rewinding 25 Years
Moritz’s first-ever gardening memory traces back to when he was just four years old. He had raked fallen leaves in autumn under a large beech tree with his Grandma in his family’s luscious home garden.
Maybe it was the earthy smell that filled the air when tilling fresh soil. Or the warm sunlight that sparkled through the old tree’s branches, cutting through the cold morning dew of the early morning hours. It could’ve just been the moment of joy and pride they shared looking at the bags filled with leaves and the cleaned-up patch.
But something about that day lit that gardening “spark” in him.
Living the Gardening Lifestyle
With his budding passion for gardening, Moritz began helping with all aspects of garden care — watering beautiful and colorful flowers, mowing the lawn, clearing weeds, sowing seeds, spreading fertilizer, and plucking pesky pests from leaves.
He fondly remembers those early spring trips to various garden centers, looking for the perfect plants, buying way too many, and returning home with a trunkload. He then spent hours digging up the earth and planting and watering their new additions.
After some time, the young plants eventually evolved into flourishing blooms. Even today, seeing plants grow fills Moritz with pure joy.
While soaking up nature, Moritz subconsciously picked up gardening and plant care know-how. It must have been the beauty of nature and the moments of joy working on gardening projects that ignited Moritz’s love for growing plants. He developed an obsession with learning everything there is to know about horticulture.
But Moritz’s natural-borne curiosity urged him to zero in on more than just the gardening basics. He learned to focus on discovering the little tricks involved in growing a flawless, vibrant garden from both practical and theoretical perspectives. With each article he writes, Moritz leans heavily on his academic background by scouring through academic literature and research to provide the best horticulture advice possible.
The Passion Continues
Looking back, it’s clear that Moritz’s profound love of nature is deeply rooted in his family — and that tradition continues to this day. Today, Moritz is a father whose kids enjoy being out in his family’s garden and capturing the same memories, happiness, and knowledge as a young Moritz once did.
Moritz has since cultivated dozens of plant species over the years, from various herbs and strawberries to pansies and violets, his personal favorite being hydrangeas. He’s also decked his home office with lush greenery, including monstera, spider plant, elephant ear, peace lily, and calathea plants.
Moritz is also very passionate about lawn care. He takes great pride in his most recent long-term project: lawn renovation. From sending soil probes to the lab to amending the soil to fertilizing to mowing, Moritz successfully converted a potato-field-esque lawn into a fluffy green carpet.
When he’s not wrist-deep in the soil, you can find Moritz running in nature, training at his local CrossFit box, playing golf, reading, and spending time with his family.
Planting the Seed: TheGrowingLeaf
In 2022, Moritz decided to share his passion for gardening with the world by launching TheGrowingLeaf.com. Moritz’s mission remains clear — to share his vast knowledge and experience as a hobbyist with fellow gardeners and newbies.
TheGrowingLeaf is now home to many blog posts written by Moritz, and he continues to expand the team with more gardening aficionados. Here, you’ll find answers to the most common horticulture questions, how-to guides, listicles, beginner’s guides, and more!
