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

It’s almost that glorious time of year again...seed starting season! I don’t know about you, but this is hands-down one of my favorite times in the garden. There’s just something touching about growing those tiny pieces of potential life into healthy plants and vegetables. However, I’d be lying if I said I’ve had perfect success right off the bat. Seed starting has a bit of a learning curve, but m...

When I think of the word “meadow,” I imagine a glorious landscape filled with grasses and wildflowers swaying in the breeze. While beautiful, these meadows also seem completely out of reach for most home gardeners. But in this episode, meadow expert Graham Laird Gardner, author of  ‘Tiny and Wild: Build a Small Scale Meadow Anywhere,’  is here to show us that we can recreate tiny meadows, even on...

If there is one genus of plants that has captured my imagination for years but repeatedly evaded me, it’s Alocasia. These tropical plants with their large, alien-esque leaves and jewel-toned undersides have long obsessed me. I’d often pick them up from the garden center, only to watch them rapidly decline in my dry, temperate home. But after lots of trial and error, I’ve finally cracked the code t...

Happy New Year, plant friends! And you know what that means—time for some serious reflection about the previous year and thinking about how we want to step into 2024! I'm all about assessing what worked and what didn't across all areas of life. But today, let's talk about plants and how you and I can use them to cultivate as much happiness as possible in the coming year. When we show up consistent...

Happy almost New Year, plant friends! For my last episode of 2023, I wanted to get a little reflective about the joy and growing parts of “Growing Joy.” This year, I bravely held a funeral for many of my houseplants that were no longer bringing me joy. Yes—I lost a LOT of houseplants this year. Some of the plants I said goodbye to weren’t even fully dead yet. They just weren’t happy in my home any...

I still clearly remember the first time I used an Espoma product—their  liquid indoor plant food  to be exact.  I had struggled so much with trying to find the right fertilizer for my houseplant collection, leading to a huge mess all over my kitchen from failed mixing attempts. But when I tried their simple liquid formula, I finally had the answer to my search, and healthy, thriving plants with go...

The winter can be challenging for indoor tropical houseplants that thrive in hot, humid environments.  While our houseplants do not experience the true dormancy of outdoor  deciduous  plants (plants that drop all their leaves at some point in the year), they can enter a period of slowed growth known as “ quiescence .” During this time, they require adjusted care to stay happy and healthy. After ke...

Have you ever wondered, “Could working with plants really be my full-time job?”  Well, dear plant friend, the answer is a resounding yes! There is a whole world of opportunities waiting for you in the horticulture industry should you decide to turn your plant passion into a career. In this episode, we’ll dig into 9 jobs in horticulture with my dear friend, Daniel Fuller. Daniel is a national counc...

Do you ever look around your home and wonder if your houseplants are getting enough light to thrive?  Without the right amount and type of light, even the most pampered plant will struggle to survive. Yet many of us wing it when it comes to taking care of our houseplants. We stick that new fiddle leaf fig in a corner and wonder why its leaves droop. Or we assume a windowsill equals “bright indirec...

The holiday season is officially here! As much as I love this festive time of year, gift-giving can be stressful for me. I always struggle to find meaningful, budget-friendly presents that make my loved ones happy. But this year, I'm spreading holiday cheer by gifting my friends and family homemade plant-inspired presents. Not only is this a budget-friendly idea—it also allows me to share my plant...

The peak gardening season may be over, but there are still important tasks to do in the garden before winter arrives.  As we enter fall and approach winter, it's time to start prepping our garden beds to go dormant. Properly putting your beds to rest sets your garden up for success when it awakens refreshed in spring. In this episode, gardening expert Resh Gala ( @reshgala ) tells us everything yo...

Have you ever wandered through the citrus section of a nursery, inhaling the sweet scent of Meyer lemons and key limes, and thought “Oh my, I want one”?  As someone who impulse purchased a struggling lime tree years ago—which I named Limey, by the way—growing citrus indoors is possible with the right care and conditions. Citrus plants can be great houseplants if you set them up for success, and th...

Do you ever wish you could invite a little more magic into your life?  As fall approaches and the spooky season of Halloween is upon us, many of us long to connect with something…  mystical . But magic doesn’t have to be complicated or even supernatural, plant friends. The energy of nature that surrounds us every day provides plenty of opportunity for wonder, spiritual connection, and manifestatio...

Caring for houseplants often means dealing with pests, diseases, or cultural issues at some point.  Having a houseplant first aid kit prepared allows you to quickly treat problems and nurse your plants back to health. In this episode, our favorite horticulturist Leslie Halleck shares must-have items to include in your DIY houseplant first aid kit so you can effectively treat plant problems as soon...

Wouldn't it be nice to wake up every morning to the hypnotic sound of wind chimes gently drifting through your bedroom window, plant friends?  The delicate tones of wind chimes dancing on the breeze can turn an ordinary morning into a magical experience.  In this episode, I spoke with the owners of Wind River Chimes to uncover the history, craftsmanship, and meaning behind these musical garden orn...

Ever heard the saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"?  You bet those lemons might have come from an Italian garden, plant friends! To celebrate Italian American Heritage Month, this episode brings us all about the history of Italian gardens and citrus cultivation with Helena Attlee, an expert on Italian gardens and author of the book The Land Where Lemons Grow. We will talk about Ita...

If you love styling your indoor plants and have an eye for design, becoming a professional plant stylist may be the perfect side hustle or full-time career for you, plant friends!  Plant styling has exploded in popularity recently, as more people discover the therapeutic benefits of surrounding themselves with plants. In this episode, we'll share insights from Maryah Greene, a successful New York-...

Is your houseplant suddenly dropping leaves, getting spots, or just looking sick?  Plant diseases can strike fear into any plant parent's heart. One day your plant baby is thriving, and the next it's on the decline! Plant diseases happen to the best of us. Even expert growers deal with fungal, bacterial, and viral plant infections. The good news is that many common houseplant diseases are treatabl...

The days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping, how do our plants adjust to this change?  For us houseplant parents, this signals that it's time to start transitioning our outdoor summer plants back indoors. While it may seem simple to just pick up your plant pots and haul them inside, there are important steps to follow for a smooth transition. In this solo episode, I'll walk you...

When you grow an edible garden, you likely end up with a surplus of fresh produce at the peak of each growing season.  Rather than letting those precious veggies and fruits go to waste, consider preserving them through time-tested techniques like canning and fermenting. These methods allow you to safely store your garden harvest so you can enjoy homemade jams, pickles, sauces, and more throughout...

For most of us, the plants growing in our backyards and neighborhoods go overlooked.  We mow them down or walk right over them without a second glance. But did you know many of these plants have been used medicinally for centuries? In this episode, we'll share fundamental tips from an expert forager, herbalist, and hiker, Heather Houskeeper. You'll learn basic plant identification skills, foraging...

As houseplant parents, most of us will inevitably encounter some type of pest infestation at some point.  Seemingly overnight, our beautiful, thriving plants can become under attack by bugs we didn't even know existed! Pests can quickly damage and even kill our treasured plants if left unchecked. In Episode 2 of the Grow Better Series, my dear friend Leslie Halleck is back to teach us how to ident...

I hope you LOVED this weeks episode on How to Grow Garlic with Jill Winger! Jill was an amazing and has an incredible podcast of her own all about homesteading and slow living called Old Fashioned On Purpose I wanted to introduce you to in, incase you dream of a homestead or slower way of living. Type in "Old Fashioned On Purpose" into the podcast player search bar and go subscribe or click this l...

Garlic is a staple in so many savory dishes, but if you've only ever cooked with the sad grocery store bulbs, it's time to see garlic's true potential by growing your own.  The depth of flavor and variety that homegrown garlic offers blows store-bought out of the water. Lucky for us, plant friends, growing our own garlic at home is so easy! In this episode, homesteader extraordinaire Jill Winger w...

Soltech has achieved remarkable success in recent years, growing from a small startup to a million-dollar business.  For long-time listeners, you probably bought their grow lights already using my coupon code  Bloom15 , and I’m sure you love them as much as I do! And for those who haven’t, join me in this episode as we talk in-depth with Soltech’s founders and my dear plant friends—Chris, Mike, an...