Growing Joy with Plants - Wellness Rooted in Nature, Houseplants, Gardening and Plant Care

Did you know that lavender comes in dozens of varieties, each with a different smell, and many with different growing habits?  I did learn that from  Rebecca at Lavender Connection , who owns a family-run lavender farm in Sequim, Washington, which also happens to be the lavender capital of the United States! After meeting her at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, where her beautiful lavender sc...

Have you ever killed a succulent and then felt like you were completely doomed as a plant parent?  That was totally me about eight years ago. I brought succulents home because everyone said they were the easiest, most foolproof plant. Yet I still managed to kill them. Naturally, I spent a lot of time thinking I was just a plant killer. However, I eventually learned that succulents aren’t fool proo...

A few weeks ago, I found 22 baby ducklings on my roof.  Not one. Not ten. But 22 fluffy, peeping, impossibly cute ducklings on the eaves of my Florida home. The videos I made became viral on Instagram and Tiktok, and so many people DM-ed me asking for updates! To be honest, it was one of the happiest and most bizarre times of my life because it made me realize how much my relationship with nature...

How do you view soil in your garden?  A lot of us look at soil as just the brown stuff under our feet. We usually don’t think about all of the different components that make up soil, all of the different organisms living in soil, or how it is this whole environment that our plants depend on. It is a living, breathing ecosystem that could be the answer to improving your entire garden. As gardeners,...

Did you know that your houseplants have superpowers?  Some can actually seek out darkness to find the light, some can count, and some can actually bring wealth. To help me reveal all these amazing aspects of our houseplants is my new friend, David Domoney. He’s a celebrated British horticulturist, television presenter, and author with over 30 Royal Horticultural Society medals. And his book,  Plan...

It’s Melanoma Awareness Month! Two years ago, I walked into a dermatologist’s office thinking I had a simple skin issue… then I walked out with a melanoma diagnosis at 34.  As a lifelong gardener, I never expected my love of plants would overlap with a serious health scare, but here we are. I’m not a beach person nor an outdoor enthusiast. I just tend to my garden every day, really. But that littl...

Did you know the scent of plants can do more than just make your garden smell good?  It can actually improve your mood, your memory, and your overall health. I’ve always thought of plant scents as just a lovely bonus in the garden, but I didn’t know there’s some wild science behind how smell connects to our emotions and even our brains. And to help me with that is Dr. Rachel Herz, a neuroscientist...

You've tried water and soil, but have you ever rooted a cutting in a Fluval Stratum?  Yes, it’s technically made for fish tanks. Yes, it looks like little black caviar. But it might just be the best thing to happen to your houseplant propagation! So in this episode, let’s break down everything I’ve learned from my conversation with my plant friend, Lindsay Sisti (@alltheplantbabies), who is a prop...

How do you create a natural garden? Is that even possible?  I want to bring you to the style of garden that’s not only sustainable but also more resilient, and honestly, more fun. In fact, it might even be the future of gardening. Natural or naturalistic garden is an approach that’s all about working with nature instead of trying to control it. To help explain this topic, I brought on my dear frie...

Have you ever seen one of those viral plant hack videos where someone sprinkles banana peels in their soil or ices their orchid?  If you’re wondering if they work, I hate to be the bearer of bad news because the answer is no. Sorry, plant friends. In this episode, I will be separating fact from fiction with my dear friend, Derek Haynes aka The Chocolate Botanist . Derek is a plant biologist who’s...

Why should politicians become gardeners?  No, this is not a political post. No, I didn’t lose it! We will not be talking about sides. This is about healing, connection, and what we can learn from our gardens and our plants in a time where it feels like everything is falling apart. Lately, I’ve been feeling this weight from watching the world spin in chaos and there’s disconnection, judgment, overw...

“To know a Dahlia is to love a Dahlia.” And once you grow one, it’s like all your other flowers just kind of fade into the background.  There’s just something about them. One of my most favorite flowers I have ever grown is a Dahlia called Kogane Fubuki. It was this magical pink and yellow ombre bloom that literally stopped me in my tracks every time I stepped onto my patio. And I want you to have...

With the push to get people back into offices, there’s a glaring question floating around the corporate world: how do we make the office a place people  actually  want to come back to?  As someone who believes in the impact of plants not just on spaces but on  people , this question has me wishing of a world where every office has its own green vegetable garden out back. Does it sound too good to...

What plants are flying off the shelves this year?  If you’ve been hanging out with me on Instagram or listening to the podcast lately, you know that part of my job is traveling the country to speak at plant shows. I love getting to see what’s new, what’s trending, and honestly… just being surrounded by thousands of plants and planty people. It fills my joy tank like nothing else. So I thought, why...

How do you plan your garden? Actually, do you plan your gardens at all?  After many years of gardening and speaking with many garden experts, I learned that a successful organic vegetable garden doesn’t just happen when you  plant it ; it starts on the day you  plan it . In this episode, I have the perfect recurring guest,  Joe Lamp'l , to discuss planning your garden for the year ahead and making...

What if the secret to a happy life is to live seasonally?  Living seasonally isn’t just about eating fresh produce (but, yes, that’s delicious). It’s about noticing nature’s rhythms, then adjusting depending on the season and celebrating those  small shifts  that define the passage of time. And with the Spring Equinox here, which is a time of renewal and balance, it’s the perfect moment to talk ab...

Grief is so heavy that it can feel like an impossible weight to carry.  But if you think about it, you can use plant care as a method to process grief and loss. Like plants, people can also grow and find resilience. They don’t rush and don’t demand. They just grow… little by little, day by day. In this episode, I want to share the story of my dear plant friend, Wade Lee, also known as Plants by Wa...

Have you ever found yourself overthinking over a yellow leaf and wondering, “Is this overwatering or underwatering? Does it need water? Is this normal?”  You’re just like the rest of us, plant friend! It's something I've done many, many times, and I know it's something that people in our community do all the time. We all want to get it right, but overthinking plant care can suck the joy right out...

“Start ‘em young.” That’s my motto. Well, it’s not really mine but I say it all the time when it comes to houseplants.  And for this episode, I’m sure plant parents are gonna be happy to learn how to connect the younger generations to plants and nature at a young age. So I want to share this conversation with my plant friend  Priscille Joseph , who is a Canadian author, illustrator, and plant love...

Have you ever once thought about how flowers could do more than brighten your day?  What if they could actually support your emotional well-being, reduce your stress, and even spark creativity? After 270+ episodes, this is my first time ordering a guest product right after the interview. Yes, I am on the flower essence bandwagon HARD after this interview. But who wouldn't be after talking with  Ka...

Lately, I’ve been hearing so many people talk about Mel Robbins’  Let Them Theory —this idea of letting go of control, shifting your mindset, and ultimately finding peace.  And you know what? I realized that I went through a similar shift when it came to my plant care journey, and I want to share it with you in this episode. I'll talk about how we think about our plants, our plant care, and how th...

How can we conserve water while maintaining healthy, attractive gardens, no matter what climate you're in?  Record-breaking heat waves, devastating droughts, wildfires scorching millions of acres, floods turning streets into rivers—we've seen it all this year. As climate extremes test our resilience, our gardens are feeling the impact too. How do we ensure our gardens not only survive but also gro...

Did you know you can use your plant passion as inspiration for how and where you go on vacation? I'm sure many of us have already done this on a small scale. Maybe you've been on a trip and kept taking pictures of plants that look just like the ones you have at home. Or perhaps you've insisted on visiting a local plant shop or botanical garden while on vacation (guilty as charged!). But plant frie...

If you’re a plant lover, you’ve probably come across Chantel, the brilliant mind behind  @channygrayhome  on Instagram. Over the past few years, she has built a community of over half a million plant enthusiasts. But there’s so much more to her than her incredible follower count. In this episode, I’ll take you behind the scenes of my chat with Channy—where we talked about her plant history, her lo...

When I visited the Seattle Spheres and saw the famous green wall with its 40,000 plants, I was mesmerized.  But what really caught my eye were these strange little plastic baggies hanging off some stems. I wondered if they were hurting the plants at first. But then I looked closer, I realized those bags were filled with  insects . Beneficial insects, to be exact. And they were there to manage pest...