Hilton Carter

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Hilton Carter began his passion for the arts at an early age. This will and desire would take him from enrolling in summer art classes at local community colleges at the age of nine, to a high school that specialized in art and technology. After graduating high school, he would receive his BFA from The Maryland Institute College of Art and continue his studies to earn a MFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA.

His freelance work as a filmmaker and editor allowed him to travel around the US and would eventually bring him to New Orleans in 2014. For him, it all started with one plant, a fiddle-leaf fig named Frank, to be exact. As he explains in his best-selling book Wild at Home: How to style and care for beautiful plants, his interest in plants started out as purely practical: he was averse to putting up curtains in his New Orleans apartment, and decided to try a more natural approach to creating privacy, using plants. His experience as a novice indoor gardener was gratifying as Frank flourished in the bright and humid conditions. But when Hilton had to move to a home with less ideal growing conditions, Frank’s leaves turned yellow and started to fall off. Five years later, Frank is now thriving in the Baltimore apartment he shares with Hilton Carter and his wife Fiona, their cats Isabella and Zoe, pup Charlie and 200 other plants.

“Have you ever walked into a plant nursery or greenhouse and instantly felt a change in the air? The feeling of calm that washes over you as you tilt your head back, close your eyes, and take a deep breath. This is the feeling you’re looking to replicate when you bring plants into your home.” – Hilton Carter, in Wild at Home

He does a weekly series with Apartment Therapy called Plant Doctor and has been featured in the The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, HGTV and BuzzFeed, to name a few. His latest book, Wild Interiors: Beautiful plants in beautiful spaces, releases April 2020.

Hilton Carter is a plant/interior stylist, director, author, and fine artist. He has a loyal following on Instagram(@hiltoncarter), where he shares his knowledge of plant care and styling with the green loving community.