This is the latest in a new series we call Plant PPL, for which we interview people of color in the plant world. If you have any suggestions for PPL to include in our series, tag us on Instagram @latimesplants. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Dianna Martinez started her business, the L.A. Garden, with a lightbulb moment — literally. Three years ago, her father taught her how to grow a pothos cutting in a lightbulb, which became her first product and sparked a whole line of ideas that three years later has turned the L.A. Garden into a thriving business and staple at art fairs and farmers markets around town.
Martinez, a Boyle Heights native, might be best known for her cajitas — box planters with succulent arrangements and decorated with Latinx-inspired art like lotería cards. “The art I display on my planters is