Looking for free, natural ways to decrease stress and increase joy and calm in your life? The answer might be simpler than you think: houseplants, gardening and nature. On Growing Joy with Plants, learn alongside Happy Plant Lady, Maria Failla to care for plants, engage with nature, and use them to manage your overwhelm, anxiety and experience happiness and calm you thought was only available on vacation.Plant care is self care. Come grow some joy with us. Follow along on socials @growingjoywithmaria
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The Fall Kitchen Garden as a Wellness Revolution: Why Growing Your Own Food Is the Ultimate Wellness Practice
Episode 363
Tuesday, November 3, 2026 • Duration 45:41
Join us as Corinne shares her powerful journey to kitchen garden wellness and herbal healing. Facing chronic health issues like MCAS and severe migraines, Corinne found answers in herbalism and growing her own food. She reveals how making a rosemary tincture helped manage her migraines by increasing blood flow, and how a simple garlic oil infusion effectively treated her daughter's recurring ear infections. Beyond specific remedies, Corinne explains how her kitchen garden in Raleigh, NC (Zone 8A) became a profound space for nervous system regulation, helping her tap into a parasympathetic state without even trying. Discover how growing herbs like chamomile and thyme, alongside fall crops like kale, broccoli, and sugar snap peas, transformed her health and mindset. Corinne emphasizes that the garden is more than just a vegetable patch; it's a beautiful, accessible wellness practice woven into daily life, teaching patience and providing a non-judgmental space for healing. Learn how to integrate gardening into your routine, whether it's enjoying morning coffee among your plants or sharing harvests with neighbors. Corinne's story highlights how growing your own food can be a wellness revolution for the whole family, even inspiring kids to eat their vegetables. Let's dive in!
In this episode, we learn:
[01:21] Why I'm about to start my first in-ground garden in Florida [02:41] Meet Corinne! + how health issues led her to herbalism
[04:12] Growing in a Zone 8A kitchen garden
[07:39] How rosemary helped her MCAS migraines
[08:24] What is MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome)?
[10:29] How to make a rosemary tincture
[12:55] Why she learned the herbal remedy first before growing the plant
[14:36] How garlic oil cleared her daughter’s ear infections
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
More Than Just a Plant: Finding Joy Again After Loss with Krystal Duran
Episode 362
Tuesday, October 27, 2026 • Duration 59:26
Is a plant ever really just a plant? I don't think so. I went from former plant killer to a house full of green in about three months. And somewhere along the way, my plants stopped being decor and started being company. For many of us, plants are also routine and a reason to get up in the morning. And for Krystal Duran of Plants With Krystal, they were a big part of healing after losing her husband. In this episode, we talked about grief, growth, and why you don’t have to be at your peak all the time. Come join our conversation.
[19:00] Is your succulent growing, or is it stretching for light?
[20:22] Krystal’s love story with her husband, Tony
[22:49] What happens when a plant lover marries a minimalist?
[26:11] Plant life parallels
[27:27] How plant care helped her decompress after hard workdays
[30:09] Why plants offer "companionship without expectation"
[32:11] Losing her husband and dealing with grief on social media
Mentioned in our conversation:Needing more lift from your plants? Thank you to our episode sponsors:Quarto: The Essential Guide to Plant Propagation by the American Horticultural SocietyEspoma Organic
The Surprising Wellness Benefits of Gardening With Perla Sofía Curbelo: Best of Growing Joy Replay
Thursday, October 22, 2026 • Duration 49:36
When winter sets in and our gardens go dormant, that 'green itch' doesn’t go anywhere!
In this Best of Growing Joy replay, I’m revisiting my conversation with returning guest Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago, certified horticultural therapist and author of Verdura: Living a Garden Life, all about indoor plant projects for stress relief and mental health.
Perla shares her genius tiny barefoot garden, a shallow pot of fragrant thyme you can rest your feet on for a little grounding when it’s too cold to go shoeless outside (an idea I’ve used ever since). We also cover creating a miniature garden escape, gardening for your inner child, and why just 15 minutes with plants can lift your mood for days.
In this episode, we learn:
[01:53] Rebranding of my YouTube Channel
[02:43] Introducing Perla Sofia Curbelo-Santiago aka Agrochic!
[04:24] How did Perla develop her passion for gardening and plants?
[07:05] How did Agrochic start?
[09:38] How did Perla balance Spanish and English content?
[11:32] What does her plant collection and garden look like?
[15:08] Make meditation more relaxing and meaningful with Wind River’s Meditation Chimes!
[16:51] Learn how to grow cut flowers with The Cut Flower Handbook’s beautiful illustrations!
[18:41] Why are people drawn to nature and plants right now?
[21:08] Seeking simplicity to escape social media overstimulation
[22:08] Perla’s interesting success stories about bringing plants into clients' lives
[29:17] What is nature’s role in mood and healing?
[30:42] Concept of gardening as a means to reconnect with one's inner child
[34:18] Rediscover a sense of “awe” and childlike wonder
[38:21] What is Perla’s barefoot garden project all about?
[45:02] How do you create a miniature garden for yourself?
[50:34] Get Perla’s book and follow her on social media!
Nature as Medicine: What 2,200 Studies Taught Dr. John La Puma About Getting Outside
Episode 361
Tuesday, October 20, 2026 • Duration 55:09
You probably spend most of your day inside. Most of us do... about 93% of our time, actually. Not to mention you’re definitely on your phone all the time. This is a health risk! To explain how harmful this habit is, I invited my dear friend Dr. John La Puma to explain what these habits might be doing to our brain and heart. He was on the show before, where we talked about culinary medicine and gardening! John is a board-certified internist, a trained chef, and he runs an organic regenerative farm in Santa Barbara. He also read 2,200 studies to understand why being outside feels so good. What he found became his book, Indoor Epidemic, which became the focus of our conversation, and how we are so starving for nature. Listen in!
In this episode, we learn:
[02:31] Sign up for my Growing Joy newsletter on Substack!
[03:10] Welcome back, Dr. John La Puma!
[04:50] How a doctor and chef became a nature as medicine expert
[06:46] Why does nature feel good?
[07:38] Buying an abandoned plant nursery and reading 2,200 studies
[09:19] How his work shifted from ecotherapy to the indoor epidemic
[11:21] How blue light at night affects your heart health (and what to use instead)
[14:31] What is the indoor epidemic?
[16:20] Get a daily dose of antioxidants and immune support with Manukora Honey!
[18:09] How hinoki oil and forest bathing help improve immunity and blood pressure
[21:14] Why 17 minutes outside a day is all you need (optimizing the 7%)
[23:04] Light first, coffee second…?
[26:38] Why sunglasses and windows block morning light
[28:12] Why burnout is really digital overload
[29:07] What is a zeitgeber?
[30:15] How CO2 buildup indoors affects your brain
[31:50] How awe and sunsets calm the vagus nerve
[34:40] Attention restoration theory (why nature rests your brain)
[36:24] Why you need to put your phone down outside
[38:26] Plant blindness and how to find nature in the city
Mentioned in our conversation: You only need 17 intentional minutes of outdoor time, Thank you to our episode sponsor:Manukora
How Houseplants Get Made: Plant Breeding, Trend Forecasting and What It Takes to Grow Millions of Plants
Episode 360
Tuesday, October 13, 2026 • Duration 48:51
Have you ever picked up a plant at the garden center and wondered how the houseplants even get here? I didn't think about it much until I was invited to speak at Cultivate, one of the biggest horticulture industry conferences, and I spent the whole time walking the halls. I'd been caring for plants for years. But I had no idea how much love and time go into getting one plant onto a store shelf. So I asked my friend Justin Hancock to walk us through it. Justin is a horticulturist at Costa Farms, the largest houseplant grower in the world. We talked about plant hunters, secret R&D areas in greenhouses, years of testing, and literally millions of cuttings before a plant ever makes it onto a store shelf! Let's dive in!
[20:52] What happens after a plant passes R&D? (propagating from one cutting to thousands)
[22:40] Costa's five-point testing process and why variegated plants are so tricky to produce
[24:40] The other roles that touch plants before they reach the garden center
[25:19] How Costa is making its potting mixes more sustainable and locally sourced
[26:33] How many plants make it out of R&D (and the Monstera subpinnata that flopped)
Mentioned in our conversation: Where do your favorite houseplants come from? Thank you to our episode sponsor:Quarto: Rebel Gardeners by Camilla Anderson
7 Gardening Tasks to Do Before Your Garden Goes Dormant: Best of Growing Joy Replay
Thursday, October 8, 2026 • Duration 46:13
If you're already dreaming about your 2027 garden, I fully support you! But I also want to encourage you to take a beat... because the best thing you can do for next year's garden is to properly put your garden to bed for winter right now.
So here's one of my favorite conversations for the Best of Growing Joy series. It's with author and garden influencer Resh Gala, and it's all about what she does at the end of the growing season to feed the soil, support wildlife, and make spring gardening so much easier.
We cover compost, cover crops, what to leave behind, and what to clean up during your fall garden cleanup. And Resh shares the one crop you should plant before winter so you can enjoy it in the spring.
In this episode, we learn:
[05:19] Resh's gardening journey and how understanding soil quality led to her success
[07:53] How does Resh balance gardening, extending the growing season, and self-care in her small backyard garden?
[09:37] Creating a greenhouse effect in snowy conditions with bent metal or PVC pipes
[11:24] Why preparing and “putting to bed” gardens for winter is important
[13:20] What are the sustainable gardening practices for winter that you should know about?
[16:57] Importance of adding compost to garden beds before winter to improve soil health
[19:13] What should be done in spring to prepare the soil for planting?
[20:18] Nourish your garden with Espoma Organic's diverse range of organic composts
[22:19] Gift a touch of harmony this holiday with Wind River Wind Chimes
[25:10] Why cover crops are a valuable addition to regenerative gardening and soil enrichment
[28:54] Why it’s easy to grow garlic during winter (keeps pests away, resilient, and is a gardener’s favorite!)
[32:09] Why is it important to reflect on the gardening season as part of self-care in plant care?
[34:09] Resh’s favorite list of what to grow in preparation for the next garden season (tomatoes and cucumber varieties)
[39:59] What kinds of flowers does Resh like to grow in her garden to attract pollinators?
[48:19] Pre-order Resh's upcoming book Vegetable Gardening Made Easy later this year
[50:52] Where can you find Resh on social media?
Mentioned in our conversation:Are you already dreaming about next year's garden?
When Was the Last Time You Had an Original Thought?
Episode 359
Tuesday, October 6, 2026 • Duration 29:11
This might be uncomfortable to ask you, plant friends, but when was the last time you had an original thought? Meaning, it shouldn’t be something you heard from a podcast, Instagram, or even ChatGPT. I’ve been itching to ask this question since coming back from maternity leave. And even when I sat down to write this, I caught myself scrolling, trying to find more about how to stop doing exactly that. This might be a little different from what we always talk about, but I figured it's something we can all have a conversation about. Let's dive in!
In this episode, we learn:
[02:04] Why is it so hard to hear yourself coming out of maternity leave?
[04:49] How it's possible to go a whole day without one original thought
[07:33] What is information overload?
[08:24] Why do self-help, wellness, and meditation apps sometimes add to information overload?
[09:56] Why we need space and the ability to get bored again
[11:40] “Look at a plant before you look at a screen”
[12:33] How did trading coffee with my phone for coffee with my plants change my mornings?
[15:35] Have you tried single-origin Manukora honey?
[17:21] Make fertilizing and mixing chunky soil simple with Espoma Organic!
[19:21] Why plants are such a gentle place to put your attention
[20:21] What is attention restoration theory? (Directed vs. involuntary attention)
[22:36] How a 40-second green roof microbreak improved focus
[24:35] Why I'm telling you to turn off this podcast…
Are you up for my no-screen mornings challenge? Thank you to our episode sponsors:ManukoraEspoma Organic
Desert Landscaping Tips for a Thriving Southwest Garden: Best of Growing Joy Replay
Thursday, September 24, 2026 • Duration 41:49
The first time I visited Arizona, I could not believe my eyes. I could not believe that, as someone who spent my life growing up in the Northeast, an arid desert like Arizona exists!
The southwestern climate is so wild because I don't understand how a desert garden could look and feel lush and magical, just like a tropical oasis, but it can. It's all about desert landscaping with low-water plants and native desert plants that are built to grow on less. So I visited the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona a couple of years ago, and I got to interview Tina Wilson, their Director of Horticulture, who gave us this crash course on how to landscape in the desert.
So for this episode of the Best of Growing Joy series, I wanted to bring back this conversation for any of our listeners living in arid desert areas in the Southwest. Because plant friends, there are gorgeous drought-tolerant plants and smart drip irrigation systems that will bring pollinators and gorgeous beings to your southwest garden, so it grows well instead of just looking fried!
In this episode, we learn:
[04:58] How Tina Wilson became Director of Horticulture at Desert Botanical Garden
[06:13] Tina's duties as Director of Horticulture
[08:04] Unique vegetation in Arizona
[10:02] What is desert landscaping? (and its 3 characteristics!)
[13:08] Gardening zones in the Southwest
[14:06] Key factors to consider when landscaping in the desert
[14:42] Right plant at the right location!
[15:51] What are the plants recommended for desert landscapes?
[16:46] The impact of the southwestern sun on plants
[18:17] Protecting plants from sunburn with shade cloth
[19:16] What is a plant palette?
[21:08] Where to find the best bamboo bedding for health and comfort?
[23:36] Want to grow fresh berries in your own garden?
[25:09] The importance of water conservation and irrigation in the desert
[26:22] Why reduce grass/turf in desert landscapes?
[29:24] The process of renovating a yard: soil profiling and testing
[31:07] Why are native desert plants so well-suited to desert conditions?
[33:34] An overview of desert plants' root systems
Mentioned in our conversation:Have you ever killed a plant by loving it too much?
All My Plants are Dead
Episode 358
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 • Duration 23:31
So, plant friends… all my plants are dead. Well, not all of them. But MANY of them. I had a baby in June, and my houseplants did not survive my postpartum era. What’s interesting is that I've heard from listeners who went through this exact thing. I never judged them once and coached them through it. But I still thought it would never be me, because I have a whole podcast about houseplants. But here we are. Let's talk about it!
In this episode, we learn:
[00:00] My plants are dead!!!
[01:55] 12 weeks postpartum in Florida with a baby… and a lot of sad plants :(
[03:06] My pregnancy, buying/renovating a house, and a very difficult birth
[05:09] How 'mom brain' affected me
[06:54] How I’m redefining plant parenthood
[07:46] The syngonium I found on my honeymoon
[08:37] What are the life transitions that quietly change how I care for plants?
[10:02] 8 years of shifting my interests (houseplants, growing food, cut flowers, propagation, tropicals)
[12:50] What I actually want now in this new season of life
[14:17] Low maintenance, high impact (stroller walks, snipped bouquets, and birdsongs)
[15:35] Experience the richness of single-origin honey with 3x more antioxidants with Manukora Honey!
[17:21] What connecting with nature indoors looks like
[18:51] Caring for Polpettino and feeling more like a mammal than ever!
[19:47] Why this episode is "All My Plants Are Dead," not "I Killed All My Plants"
[20:09] Not giving up on plants and what I'm committing to in Zone 10B!
[21:24] What does your growing joy look like right now, and what do you want it to look like in 2027?
Motherhood, Seasons of Life and Changing Plant Passions
Episode 357
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 • Duration 01:02:54
Did you know that Becca from Becca De La Plants and I delivered our babies 24 hours and 3 minutes apart?! We didn't plan that. We've been friends for almost 10 years now, and the first time we hung out, she was planning her wedding. Since then, we've gotten married, moved, built businesses, and now she's had her second baby, and I've had my first! For some reason, we keep landing in the same season of life at the same time. So I asked her to come talk with me about it. About two hard pregnancies, about the identity shift nobody warns you about properly, and about what plants have been quietly teaching us the whole time. Come join our conversation!
In this episode, we learn:
[02:14] Meet Becca De La Plants
[06:53] The TikTok comment that flagged her cholestasis!
[08:22] Where social media saves you, and where it wrecks you
[10:22] Running my business from bed through a sick first trimester
[11:43] What prenatal depression took from Becca’s toddler's first years
[13:41] The beliefs we absorb about how pregnancy is supposed to feel
[17:57] Why I wouldn't let myself attach to this pregnancy after two losses
[20:42] How one Five Guys order sent me to the ER with gallstones
[24:22] How a hard pregnancy made the newborn phase feel blissful!
[25:53] Becca's HG lifting the day she delivered and finally being able to eat
[28:47] Why snap-back culture makes no sense when you barely gained weight
[29:49] The identity shift of becoming a mom!
[35:46] How thinking in seasons gives you permission to be fully present
[37:37] Is "don't lose yourself" actually good advice?
[38:21] My HOT take: why you should have your kids later
[42:01] What slow-germinating seeds taught me about timing
[42:59] What it's like being last to have a kid when you've always gone first
[46:19] Second-baby calm vs. logging every single diaper in the app
Mentioned in our conversation: For all of my and Becca's motherhood hot takes,Thank you to our episode sponsors:Quarto: Concrete Botany by Joey SantoreEspoma Organic
[35:24] How the plant community showed up for her (even inside Animal Crossing)
[37:10] What happened to her 300-plant collection while she was grieving?
[40:00] What grief taught her about patience and finding joy in small things
[43:11] Why we're not supposed to be at our peak all the time
[44:34] The indoor lotus pond she built that didn't last
[47:22] Why she shifted toward low-maintenance plants
[51:16] Inside More Than Just a Plant (her book about grief, plant care, and community)
[53:11] What are some creative ways to gift plants to new plant parents?
Go to manukora.com/bloom to get up to 31% off the starter kit that includes their 850+ Manukora honey jar, 5 honey travel sticks, a wooden spoon, a guidebook, and an onboarding call with Manukora's clinical specialist, PLUS $75 worth of free gifts!
Go to manukora.com/bloom to get up to 31% off the starter kit that includes their 850+ Manukora honey jar, 5 honey travel sticks, a wooden spoon, and a guidebook, PLUS $25 worth of free gifts!
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Go to manukora.com/bloom to get up to 31% off the starter kit that includes their 850+ Manukora honey jar, 5 honey travel sticks, a wooden spoon, and a guidebook, PLUS $25 worth of free gifts!
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Details about Growing Joy with Plants - Wellness Rooted in Nature, Houseplants, Gardening and Plant Care, a podcast by Maria Failla- Happy Plant Lady and Author of Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness
