2026 Plant Swaps
Plantie Mame
On workdays, you’ll find Meg Rider in professional attire for her job as a Medicare trainer for Jefferson Health Plans. In her off time, she goes everywhere from Dirty Franks to local parks, arboretums, and community centers as her alter ego, Plantie Mame, a green-thumbed goddess akin to what you’d get if the wildly flamboyant 1950s movie character made famous by Rosalind Russell and a greenhouse had a baby. (Rider, who also calls herself the Diva of Dirt, is literally covered head to toe in plants and flowers.) Plantie Mame hosts plant swaps — bring a plant, take a plant — and all sorts of other horticultural activities, spreading joy and positivity along the way. “During COVID, I was going through isolation and the recent loss of my parents,” Rider says. “I created Plantie Mame as a way for me to heal but also to help others.”
Philadelphia, PA instagram.com/plantiemame/