Meet the Team
Our Passion is Plants
Put A Plant On It is a botanically themed gift shop in the heart of the Elmwood Village of Buffalo NY. In addition to houseplants both rare and common, Put A Plant On It also provides houseplant consulting, houseplant sitting, and a self-serve potting station. All products in the store are made locally by Western New York artisans. Being conscientious of where our product comes from and supporting our local economy is at the forefront of our mission. Even our soil is made just over the border in Pennsylvania.
Johanna C. Dominguez
Johanna C. Dominguez is owner and head plant queen at Put a Plant On It. Her enthusiasm for plants grew from coming a long line of farmers that have farmed everything from pineapple, rice, bananas, chocolate, and cows. With her mother she traveled the world, living abroad until coming to the United States at 15. Growing up in 6 different countries gave Johanna a deep love of ecology, having lived in a variety of different environments. That nomadic lifestyle didn't lend well to keeping plants, but as soon as Johanna became firmly rooted in her home here in Buffalo, she quickly started accumulating plants.
Johanna's favorite plants include aroids (alocasia, philodendron, anthurium) and she enjoys learning from their growth. She grows and propagates most of her own plants in several small greenhouses and hopes to bring some of these hard to find plants to the people of Buffalo. Her other favorite plants are hoya and her love of hoya runs deep. She has over 130 different varieties of hoya which she also propagates for the shop. Johanna's knowledge runs as deep as a taproot and she thrives on sharing it with everyone who steps through the door with a smile and enthusiasm that can't be matched.
Micheala Malesky
Michaela has her degree in horticulture from NCCC and has been with PAPOI almost since the beginning of time. She is the shop manager and is integral in making the shop run smoothly, stays organized, and that everyone stays on track. She’s a curly haired bundle of energy who never stops moving, loves nature and is a bit of an animal whisperer. Her first plant was a rex begonia and now her collection has grown to over 250 plants at home. Michaela loves watching plants grow and constantly learning about new plants. All the green gives her spurts of serotonin and finds it super fulfilling when she succeeds at a plant she thought she’d otherwise kill. In addition to managing the shop, Michaela does site visits and interior decorating. She is the mastermind behind our beautiful green wall in East Aurora.
Marissa
Marissa went to NCCC for horticulture and joined the PAPOI team in March of 2023. Her interest in plants started when she was 16yrs old and her grandmother would bring her to the Broadway Market during Easter and got her first plant. The rest is history and a plant hoarder was born. She has over 200 plants now at home. She loves plants for the sense of joy and challenge that they bring and help boost her confidence. Marissa can be found at the shop most days and also does many of our site visits.
Lexi
Lexi joined the PAPOI team in May of 2023 and has an intense passion for the natural world and received her BS in Biological Sciences from Arizona State University. She loves plants for the positive impact they bring to your lives and homes. She prides herself in providing exceptional customer service. Her first plant was a pothos marble queen and her personal collection has grown to almost 200 plants. She really started collecting plants when she moved to Buffalo from Florida because she missed the perpetual greenery she had in Florida. She loves taking care of plants and having the reward her with growth. You may see Lexi out and about on our site visits and often in the shop!
Ashley
Ashley is the newest member of the PAPOI team having joined in early July of 2023. She is currently in art school at the University of Buffalo and is often at the shop mostly on weekends. She stopped counting how many plants she has awhile ago, mostly because she knows her collection is somewhere over 100. Ashley chose plants because it makes her happy to bring in a little piece of nature into her home. She doesn’t remember her first plant, but we remember when Ashley was a customer and was so excited about getting a thaumatophyllum and we knew she was one of us.
Papaya RIP
Papaya is a pearl cockatiel that came to us after someone found her roaming outside in Rochester. When they couldn’t find her owner her rescuers asked if anyone wanted a bird. Of course we said YES and we gave her a home! Papaya is MVP at the shop and makes everyone feel special. She enjoys head pets and will fly at you if you ignore her.
Chimichurri
Chimichurri is a hahns macaw which is the smallest of the macaws. He came to us from Jenn’s Exotic Pets in the Eastern Hills Mall and amuses everyone with his clownish antics. He has an affinity for stealing money – either from the donation bin or people’s wallets. He also loves zippers, hats, and dogs!
Lychee & Melon
These two are our resident cockatiels and are a bonded pair. Melon came to us via Lollypop Farm after he was rescued from a hoarder house that was in a house fire. He was very scared initially but has blossomed under our care. Lychee is his emotional support bird and has helped him come out of his shell.
Blueberry
Blueberry is violet Indian Ringneck Parakeet that we rescued from a horrible situation. When we got her she wasn't handled much and smelled terrible. She has adjusted to shop life wonderfully and is getting used to being pet and held. Her favorite past-times are shredding things, taking keys of laptops, straws, and deconstructing pencils.
Falcor
Falcor is our blizzard leopard gecko that resides in the tank in our counter. He is mostly nocturnal but can always be seen in one of his hides. The fun thing about Falcor is that he is a better prognosticator of spring than Punxsutawney Phil. You’ll know it is spring when Falcor is in his cool hide and officially winter when it he is in his warm hide!
Woozle
Woozle is our lovable shop dog and one of our (many) mascots! He’s a mini Australian labradoodle who belongs to Johanna and spends most of his time lounging behind the counter or in the throne at the front of the shop. If you’re lucky, Woozle might bring you his toy to play tug of war or fetch—one of his favorite games! Feel free to give him some attention while you shop; he’s always up for a bit of fun! He doesn't like his head pet but he is always down for back and belly rubs.
