We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeremy Spath. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeremy below.

Jeremy, appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Yes I have! I am so very fortunate to say that. I fell in love with plants in my early 30’s, and love them all, but eventually realized to learn as much as you can about plants, it’s best to specialize on less rather than more as there are so many. After working at San Diego Botanic Garden, I shifted to Rancho Soledad Nursery in Rancho Santa Fe. Here I was fortunate to work with older agaves with beautiful genetics. I began cross breeding them and creating all sorts of plants that hadn’t been made before. Cross breeding is common among other groups of plants, think a wild rose vs. what we see is capable once people began working with them. Agaves were a relatively untouched group, and their popularity worldwide has been expanding significantly in recent years. They were likely untouched, as it can take decades for them to flower, hence the nickname century plants, making the breeding process slow. Eventually I opened Hidden Agave in Escondido, and people from around the world make it a point to come visit.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

As much as I love breeding agave, I love nothing more than seeing them in their natural habitat. Agaves grow in the Americas, from SW USA, Mexico, the Carribean, and Northern South America through Central America. Finding habitats and searching for new species is the thrill of my life, but its hard work. They are not just sitting by the side of the road, hiking spiny dry mountains in typically heavy heat is the norm. It is exhausting, time consuming and wonderful.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

As agave breeding takes so long, since it takes many years before each flower, I want to cross enough plants so that I leave an opportunity for others to stand on my shoulders, continuing complex hybrids- meaning multiple species within one plant. There are endless possiblities within hybridizing, there is no end to cool plant possibilities.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hiddenagave.com
• Instagram: @hiddenagave