Martha Stewart reveals what she always splurges on

Martha Stewart isn't shy about spending money on one particular thing: plants. 

The 85-year-old lifestyle icon was speaking at a recent event hosted by 92NY alongside Richard Christiansen, author of "Flamingo Estate Pleasure Principles: An Almanac from the Garden," when she confessed that she never hesitates to splurge on greenery for her gardens, even when the bills raise eyebrows from her team.

“Plants, trees … I mean, my business manager comes up with a pile of bills,” she said at the event, which was hosted by 92NY. “‘What’s this for?’ And it’s a tree, it’s a plant. That gives me more joy than anything,” she added.

Christiansen echoed the sentiment, noting that a plant is the only gift he ever requests from loved ones. “Every time I see the plants that people have given me, it makes me think of you,” he said. “I think that’s the nicest thing to give.”

Despite decades of experience gardening across her properties, Stewart admitted she still makes mistakes from time to time. 

She then shared a piece of advice for beginners. “Start small. Do your research. Don’t worry about mistakes because you’re gonna make plenty of mistakes,” she said while sharing her top gardening tips. 

“Add something that you just love and see if you can make it grow. I’m making stuff grow that I never thought I could grow.”

She also revealed that “this year, we had the biggest crop of artichokes that were so delicious. So many berries. We had golden raspberries, purple raspberries and currants.”

Stewart's love of gardening traces back to her father, who first introduced her to it through a victory garden the family kept during World War II. 

She noted that gardening has seen a resurgence in popularity recently, tying it to growing interest in healthy eating and long-term wellness. 

“We want to eat well,” the entrepreneur said. “There’s this whole new interest in longevity and in aging successfully and gracefully. It has to do with your diet a tremendous amount and, if you grow your own stuff and know what you’re eating, it helps a lot with your sense of wellbeing.”

She explained that understanding where your food comes from can play a meaningful role in overall wellbeing.

“At my property, my whole garden is a love garden,” she added of her 63-acre estate in Maine. “I really love gardening, I do. And I spend a little bit of every single day paying attention to it. It’s an incredible feeling.”