Martha Stewart's Most Prized Flowers Are More Than 50 Years Old. She Reveals the Incredible Way She Got Them (Exclusive) Hedy PhillipsFebruary 18, 2026 at 8:58 AM 0 Martha Stewart for MiracleGro MiracleGro Martha Stewart, who was named the Chief Gardening Officer of Scotts MiracleGro last year, says she's had one of her plants for over 50 years Stewart tells PEOPLE how gardening is part of her selfcare She also adds why she turns to MiracleGro for her own garden Martha Stewart is a lot of things: entrepreneur, author, lifestyle mogul and, of course, a green thumb.
- - Martha Stewart's Most Prized Flowers Are More Than 50 Years Old. She Reveals the Incredible Way She Got Them (Exclusive)
Hedy PhillipsFebruary 18, 2026 at 8:58 AM
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Martha Stewart for Miracle-Gro
Miracle-Gro
Martha Stewart, who was named the Chief Gardening Officer of Scotts Miracle-Gro last year, says she's had one of her plants for over 50 years
Stewart tells PEOPLE how gardening is part of her self-care
She also adds why she turns to Miracle-Gro for her own garden
Martha Stewart is a lot of things: entrepreneur, author, lifestyle mogul and, of course, a green thumb.
Stewart, 84, may not have a lot of free time in her busy schedule, but she always makes time for gardening, whether that's in her greenhouses, in her gardens or in her home. Though she's grown "thousands" of plants in her lifetime, there's one in particular that stands above the rest: her dendrobium orchids.
"Right now in full bloom are about 30 gigantic dendrobium orchids," Stewart tells PEOPLE of her current favorite plant. "You would think maybe they're honeysuckle when you look at them from a distance because they have tiny little pink and white flowers on them."
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Stewart says every few days, she brings in new blooms from the greenhouse to brighten her home and scent the space. She says they smell like the "finest perfume ever made."
What makes these orchids so unique, though, is where Stewart got them in the first place.
"I got them originally from the lady who started Pepperidge Farm, Margaret Rudkin," she explains. "She lived in Fairfield, Connecticut, right down the road from my house. She had two or three very nice small greenhouses, and these were in the greenhouse and she gave them to me. She sold the house, and she gave me the orchids. I've had them ever since."
Stewart shares that Rudkin died in 1967, and she estimates that she handed over the blooms shortly before this, making her starter plants more than 50 years old. She keeps them thriving with "optimal" conditions, she says, which include the right plant food.
"As a serious gardener, I have tried every single thing," Stewart says. "The most available and the most easily understood plant foods are the organics that Miracle-Gro is making right now. We have organic plant foods for all different kinds of plants, all of these things."
Stewart takes her gardening so seriously that Scotts Miracle-Gro named her the Chief Gardening Officer in 2025. At the time, Sadie Oldham, vice president and general manager of the Gardens business at Scotts Miracle-Gro said in a press release, "Naming Martha chief gardening officer is the pinnacle of our partnership and an important step in our mission to make Gardening more accessible for all. Not only is she going to challenge us in the best ways possible, but she is extremely insightful and will serve as a trusted resource for our team, Miracle-Gro customers and the Gardening community as a whole."
Martha Stewart for Miracle-Gro
Miracle-Gro
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As part of her role, Stewart says she visits the Scotts Miracle-Gro headquarters in Ohio to chat plants. "I visit with their scientists, their researchers, and with the board. We talk about what's going on in the world of plants."
Though she calls her CGO role a "side job" — albeit a "big" one — gardening in general also acts as a form of self-care for her.
"I take care of me, I take care of my plants, I take care of my animals," she says of how it all works together holistically, adding that her diet, skin care and overall wellness all contribute to her self-care. "I wouldn't go into my greenhouses if I didn't have my own personal care taken care of first."
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: February 17, 2026 at 05:45PM on Source: PRIME TIME
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