Martha Stewart's Head Gardner Ryan McCallister Just Took His Own Steamy Pool Selfie We're Shook

From House Beautiful

If you've watched Martha Stewart's new HGTV gardening show, Martha Knows Best, you probably took notice of her cherubic, curly-haired head gardener, Ryan McCallister. Alongside Stewart's driver, Carlos, and housekeeper, Elvira, McCallister has been quarantining with Stewart since March at her lush 150-acre Bedford estate in New York.

However, the 40-year-old California native is no stranger to Stewart's flower beds. He's been apart of the lifestyle guru's life for almost a decade and returns to the Bedford grounds every growing season to help bring her crops to fruition. Here are 11 things you might not know about Ryan McCallister.

He's been working as Stewart's gardener since 2011

McCallister has been the head gardener at Stewart's Bedford farm since 2011. Over the years, he's been featured in videos on Stewart's Youtube channel, as well as blog posts on TheMarthaBlog.com. He also helped her market her QVC products on air.

He's originally from California

McCallister grew up in Ontario, California, where the perfect weather flourished his love for gardening. In 2009, he moved to New York City to start a new chapter. Before getting hired by Stewart in 2011, he worked some landscaping jobs around the city.

While he loves his job, adapting to the differences in temperature wasn't always easy for the Southern California native. "The biggest challenge was re-learning how to garden once moving to the East Coast," he told Mr. Plant Geek in 2018. "Plants that I was used to won’t grow here at all."

He's hosted workshops at the New York Botanical Gardens

Over the years, McCallister, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Ornamental Horticulture & Biology, has shared his gardening expertise with the public. He's hosted several one-off workshops at the New York Botanical Gardens. Most recently he's lectured on bulb planting and how to maintain a kitchen garden.

He worked at the Home Depot for seven years before moving to NYC

Back when McCallister was living that SoCal life, he worked in the gardening section at the Home Depot during college. However, this wasn't just a job to help to pay the bills. "[The] Home Depot was totally a life experience," he wrote on Instagram.

He's a Pisces

McCallister was born on February 26, 1980. He posted about his 38th birthday in 2018 on Instagram. He is currently 40 years old.

He knows how to take hot pool selfies like Stewart

The internet went wild for Martha Stewart’s pool selfie, so McCallister decided to follow the trend and snap his own steamy selfie. Looks like Stewart taught him well!

He's been acting as Stewart's social media coordinator in quarantine

While Stewart typically has a dedicated film and photography crew to shoot her in the garden, McCallister has taken on the role during quarantine. “All the videos you’ve seen of her since March were done by me,” he told Town & Country earlier this year. He's doing a pretty solid job if you ask us!

He went on a "garden tour" with Bette Midler

In a throwback Instagram post, McCallister reflected on going on a "garden tour" with the famous Hocus Pocus actress years ago. What is a garden tour and why was Bette Middler there? We must know more!

Sometimes he doesn't agree with Martha

"Sometimes we’ll have different ideas about the direction we want to take a certain garden," he told Mr. Plant Geek, noting that if the two can't come to an agreement, he always lets her make the final call. However, he notes that she is always open to hearing his ideas and opinions. "We’re able to work through things pretty easily," he says.

He also shared with Town & Country how much of a resource Stewart is to him: "I’ve been gardening my whole life and studied plants and landscapes in school, but I learn something new from her every day."

He thinks of Stewart as his "work mom"

With Stewart constantly teaching McCallister new skills and baking him cookies, it's easy to see why he might think of Stewart as a second mom. He shared a photo to Instagram on the set of Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party posing with both Stewart and his real mother. He used the hashtags #mytwomoms and #workmom.

He loves Stewart's cats and dogs

Take a peek at McCallister's Instagram and you'll find some cute pics of McCallister cuddling with Stewart's cats, Blackie and Empress Tang. But don't worry, he seems to also be pretty fond of her Chow Chow, Genghis Kahn, too. According to McCallister's Instagram, he also has his own orange cat named Ewan.

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