Tori Linton grew up gardening. Growing something from scratch comes naturally for her, and the joy a fully bloomed flower brings is unlike anything else.

“I’ve always loved when flowers bloom,” she says. “It’s like they talk to each other.”

Now she’s seeking to get people to connect through plants. She started her business, En Root, a little more than a year ago. She sells custom-made planters for bonsai, air plants, succulents and more. She’s built it a little at a time, selling online and at farmers markets. She’s also hosted plant swaps—events where plant-lovers trade what they’ve grown—and terrarium-building workshops.

She hopes to have a brick-and-mortar store eventually, not just to sell her own wares but to bring people together for classes and events. “It’s always fun talking to people about plants and creating those connections,” she says. 

The New York native moved to the Naples area to follow her parents, who are also gardeners. She was working a retail job when she was diagnosed with myasthenia, a neuromuscular disease that causes muscle weakness. She needed a lifestyle change, and the idea for the business was formed.

Linton propagates most of her plants herself and creates the vessels they go in, from the hand-stitched macrame hangers to the concrete and beach rock planters.   

She’s taken a hobby and turned it into a business—one where she can also find peace and joy. “When you can care for plants, you can care for yourself,” she says.