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

What if the most relaxing time for you in your garden isn't during the day, but after dark? In those cool summer nights when garden chores aren't practical because you can't see very well, we have a unique opportunity to ease burnout, support mental health, and deepen your connection to plants and nature. So I'm joined by a friend, Perla Sofia Curbelo-Santiago, a repeat guest and the author of Verdura, to talk about her new take on...

What if herbs go beyond the small, contained, and kitchen-window plants we use them for? Herbs could do so, so much more! In this episode, I sit down with Sue Goetz, a garden designer, author, and herb obsessive, to explore the many different ways we can use our favorite herbs in our garden landscape. She has a five-foot rosemary hedge in her backyard and uses chamomile between her stepping stones. She also grows lavender, sage, an...

Ferns are some of the most gorgeous houseplants you can grow... and one of the oldest plants on the planet. They're basically living dinosaurs. But if you've ever watched a maidenhair fern grow in a sidewalk crack, only to crumble the second you bring it indoors, you know exactly why ferns have a reputation for being impossible to keep alive.

Most people aren't failing at ferns. They're just growing the wrong fern for their home.

I...

What if we don't design or control our gardens, but instead collaborate with them? I moved from the lush woods of Zone 5B to a front yard full of sand in Zone 10B Florida and felt like I had no control over my garden design. It was frustrating! So I sat down with Evan Meyer of Bloedel Reserve, a 140-acre garden and wild lands complex on Bainbridge Island just outside of Seattle, to help me feel more grounded in my new garden. Evan ...

We’ve likely all had some run-in with a carnivorous plant. I brought one of those little Venus flytraps home from the hardware store, even though I had no idea how to care for it. Maybe you have marveled at the wide array of these plants at your local botanical garden. Or maybe you just know the man-eating Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors! However you found them, you have probably figured out that these plants are in a l...

If you are just starting out as a plant parent, there comes a moment when you realize your plant has outgrown its pot and you need to figure out how to repot it. And in learning how to repot plants, you might feel like you are doing it wrong, or you end up being way too careful and precious about the whole thing.

Repotting is actually a very simple process, and it can even become a really fun and meditative part of caring for your ...

Aren't flowers just the perfect little pockets of joy? I have been following Claudia from In the Garden with Claudia on Instagram for over a year now, and I live for her cut flower garden stories! I’ve been feeling a little humbled by my own garden setbacks in South Florida recently. So when I finally got her on the podcast, I thought we were going to do a straight-up how-to on growing flowers. And we did, kind of. But this c...

If you're looking for your garden to be a little more curated, calm, and cohesive (put together in a way that just feels right) what if you've been looking for advice in the wrong places? What if you shouldn't be looking at a garden designer at all, but instead at an interior designer to give you garden design tips that help pull everything together?

I'm bringing this one back as part of the Best of Growing Joy series a conversatio...

Have you ever heard of the hügelkultur gardening method? I first heard the word ‘hügelkultur’ a couple of years ago while visiting The Lodge at Woodloch's organic farm. They had this beautiful setup where they grew the food that the spa guests would eat. And in the middle of it all was this raised bed that looked like it was mid-construction. It was a hügelkultur bed. Since then, I kept hearing that word, especially amo...

Calathea is one of the most gorgeous and often most disappointing houseplants a new plant parent can bring home. If you've ever taken a beginner plant shopping, you already know: they walk straight to the calatheas. Can you blame them? These plants look like they were literally hand-painted by Mother Nature.

But calathea care is pretty tricky. The leaves curl. The edges go crispy and brown. The humidity demands feel impossible. Sud...

Does this design decision bring me closer to nature? When I started renovating our new home a few months ago, I wasn’t going to make a single design choice without asking this question. This lens is called biophilic design, and I actually had an episode about it before! But to talk about it more, I’ve invited Oliver Heath, an architect, designer, and thought leader in biophilic design. Oliver is based in England, studie...

What if your houseplants are doing so much more than just looking pretty on your windowsill? What if they’re actually communicating, sensing their environment, and responding in ways we’re only beginning to understand?

In this Best of Growing Joy replay, I sit down with Paco Calvo and Natalie Lawrence, co-authors of Planta Sapiens, to explore plant intelligence, plant behavior, and the big question: do plants have feeli...

Do you have the guts to release beneficial insects in your home? I recently invited Jamie, the co-founder of DMV Beneficials, into my studio to do exactly that. We spent the afternoon performing a professional consultation on my green wall. We examined my alocasia, philodendron, hoya, and more under a microscope to see what was really going on. We found broad mites, spider mite eggs, and a possible infestation starting on my rabbit...

To me, a hedge of hydrangea is one of the most iconic things you can do for your garden. They're epic, gorgeous, and yes, they have a reputation for being a little high maintenance. But once you set them up for success, hydrangeas can be one of the easiest flowering shrubs to grow.

In this Best of Growing Joy replay, I'm sitting down with Ryan McEnaney aka @ryanplantsplants a fifth-generation member of Bailey Nurseries and the face...

Don't sweet peas have the most amazing floral scent? I remember them as a scent before I ever knew them as a flower, like the Bath & Body Works body spray that no other brands can seem to replicate. Then I realized I had never actually done an episode on these before, so there’s no better time than to invite my dear plant friend, Marryn Mathis, the Sweet Pea Queen, to share her story! Marryn quit a 21-year IT career, move...

If you knew where most grocery store lettuce comes from and what it goes through before it lands in that plastic box, you’d never look at bagged salad the same way again.

In this Best of Growing Joy episode, I’m sharing a practical, beginner-friendly guide on how to grow lettuce from seed so you can harvest fresh, crunchy salad greens right outside your door with my friend and garden coach, Nicole Burke of Gardener. We ...

Why are monarch butterflies so special? If you follow me on Instagram, you already know my answer. The monarch butterfly has completely taken over my heart. I literally dressed up as one for Halloween this year, and I have zero regrets! Ever since my husband and I moved to Florida, I started planting milkweed just to watch them hatch in my own yard. And wow. Seeing their life cycle happen right in front of me made me think deeply a...

Did you know your “regular” herb garden can double as a medicinal herb garden, and that the mint you grab for mojitos can actually calm your nerves and your digestion? I used to think herbalism meant mysterious tincture bottles and complicated formulas… until I started turning the basil, mint, and lemon balm I grow into simple herbal teas I actually drink every night.

In this Best of Growing Joy episode, I’...

I’ve always wanted to make gardening a lifelong hobby because I plan to have dirt under my nails well into my 80s or 90s, but I never really thought through HOW to make that happen. Because as much as we love our plants, gardening as you age is not about doing the same thing forever. I see it with my mom who’s an incredible gardener. She has that true plant parent energy, but even she has to change how she gardens. So w...