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

I’m thrilled to be joined by the “Airplant Man” himself, Josh Rosen to discuss all things airplants. Airplants, or Tillandsia, are another popular houseplant you see in many magazines and on social media, but the care instructions online can be very varied and sometimes confusing. Having a small collection of airplants myself (and having killed a couple!) I knew this was a topic I needed the airplant expert for. Enter Josh! Josh is a licensed landscape architect who also is the founder of the company Airplantman: a company focused exclusively on custom installations and California-made products designed specifically for tillandsia. Airplantman installations can be seen throughout Southern California and the world and has been featured in numerous publications. He also has a whole line of airplant frames and vessels that are beautiful to look at and intentionally made. In our conversation he gives us so much useful information on Airplants, from what they actually are to how to care for them. I know that I am a much better Airplant parent after my conversation with him! In this episode we learn: Josh’s upbringing and how he connected with plants initially Why outdoor gardeners say they can’t keep houseplants What an airplant is, genus, family, and why it is special What are trichomes How Airplants get their nutrients To fertilize or not to fertilize? What airplant “blushing” is How airplants bloom and how to care for them when they do How to propagate airplants from their seeds Airplant Care 101 Debunking watering plant myths Everything we need to know about Airplant pups How to separate pups from their mother plant What to know about the sexy and instagram friendly Xerographica Josh’s top 5 recommendations for more uncommon airplants for the planty collector Follow Josh and his airplant installations: www.airplantman.com IG: @airplantman Twitter: @airplantman Follow Bloom and Grow Radio: Garden Club: www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club IG: @bloomandgrowradio Facebook: www.facebook.com/bloomandgrowradio www.bloomandgrowradio.com         Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today I welcome Molly Mansfield to the show to talk about something I have no experience with- raising babies around a plant collection! Molly is the perfect person to talk about this with, as she grew up with parents who owned a Garden Center and plants played a huge part in her childhood. Now she gets to have plants in her two young boys life! Molly is also the very talented artist behind @mollymansfieldartist and does the most beautiful botanical watercolors. She is a self taught artist living in Austin, Texas with her family. She paints watercolor botanicals inspired by her childhood in garden centers and botanical gardens. She is the brain behind the Bloom and Grow Radio “Keep Blooming” print that is a free download to all of the garden club members.   In this episode we learn: What is was like for Molly to grow up in a Garden Center How Molly’s business transitioned with her first child being born Her journey to finding botanical watercolor as her calling and why it inspires her The inspiration behind the Bloom and Grow Radio “Keep Blooming Print” Her experience with plants in the different stages of her toddler’s life Her special parenting life hack for teaching her kids not to dig around in her plants Safety with plants and kids Plant that are fun to grow with kids How to grow swallowtail caterpillars with your kids If fertilizer types/brands are important when you have kids How to get your kids to eat their vegetables!   Mentioned in the episode: Molly’s Parent’s Nursery: https://www.bloomerselgin.com/ The Great Outdoors Nursery: https://gonursery.com/   Special thank you to the Bloom and Grow Radio Media Plant Lady Intern Chelsey Zaplachinski for editing this episode! Check out her incredible planty photos at @plants_vs_cats and @chelseymeganmedia   Follow Molly Mansfield: IG: @mollymansfieldartist www.mollymansfield.com Follow Bloom and Grow Radio: Garden Club: www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club IG: @bloomandgrowradio Facebook: www.facebook.com/bloomandgrowradio www.bloomandgrowradio.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We are joined by Chris today for another installment of our Plant Science Series featuring The Sill. Orchid 101 is near and dear to my heart because I STRUGGLE with Orchids and Chris has been my go to resource for personal orchid care. So I knew he would be the perfect guest to have come on the show and answer your orchid questions! If you don’t know already, The Sill is a plant brand with two brick and mortar shops in NYC and an online shop that delivers nation wide. Their quality of plants, and the way they ship plants is unparalleled. Their pots are some of my most treasured pots that I own and are locally sourced. They have a huge focus on education with awesome online classes and in person classes in their stores and they just started the Plant Parent Club! The PPC is their monthly plant subscription service. When you join their club you get a monthly surprise plant delivery and included in the membership is also access to all of their online workshops and free shipping on any other plants. So if you are interested in anything I’ve just mentioned, visit www.thesill.com and use the code BLOOM5 to get 5 dollars off your order and to let them know I sent you! In this episode we learn: - Why Orchids have a reputation for being difficult, and why they can be intimidating - What an orchid is, where we find them in nature - The anatomy of an orchid - Myth Busting on ice cubes, level of difficulty, fertilizer - Orchid care- light and watering - Orchid bark- how necessary is it? What is it? - Is it ok to buy orchids at your local grocery store or Trader Joe’s/Whole Foods - What does a year as a new orchid parent look like (from buying an orchid in full bloom to then having the blooms die and getting the plant to rebloom) - Fertilizer- to use or not to use - Myth busting- are ice cubes a good idea for watering? - Listener questions - Why everyone should try growing an orchid   Bloom and Grow Radio is an affiliate partner of The Sill. www.bloomandgrowradio.com www.thesill.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

 Today we are joined by Luke Marion of MI Gardener to talk all things indoor citrus! You might know Luke from his MI Gardener youtube channel (which I’m a huge fan of!) which has become one of the fastest growing gardening channels with over 250,000 subscribers on YouTube alone. Founded in 2011 MIgardener aims to help gardeners all around the world. Luke & Sindy Marion are the brains behind MIgardener and strive to help people “Grow Big”. I found Luke when I was searching youtube citrus care online and love his videos about his indoor citrus collection and knew he would be the perfect guest for this episode. I bought Limey, my first citrus tree, when I was still a complete novice with very little knowledge on plant care, so my journey learning how to care for Limey has had it’s ups and downs (as you’ll learn throughout my conversation with Luke). But citrus are amazing plants to learn to care for because they are so communicative and so fun to grow! Enjoy our plant chat! In this episode we learn: Luke’s journey from botany to business school to creating a gardening brand What being a Master Gardener really means Lukes citrus forest What trends the younger generation is moving towards with indoor plants Basic Citrus Care 101 – water, pot size, soil,   light Citrus care hacks! Pruning 101 Fertilizing basics Pollinating citrus Pest Control Conditioning your plants to go outdoors in the summer Mentioned in the episode: Bloom and Grow Pop Socket!  Trifecta plus fertilizer: Soltech Solutions Light: use code 'bloomandgrow15' for 15% off at https://soltechsolutionsllc.com/products/ Via Citrus lemon, lime and calamondin tress: use code 'BloomCitrus' for 15% off at Viacitrus.com Espoma Organic Cactus/Citrus Soil (This is what I repotted Limey in after my chat with Luke) *Bloom and Grow Radio is an affiliate partner with these companies, so a portion of the sale will go to Bloom and Grow at no extra cost to you. Using the codes is a fun way to support the show for free while growing your indoor jungle!* Follow Luke and MI Gardener: Instagram: instagram.com/migardener Youtube: youtube.com/migardener Website: migardener.com Facebook: Facebook.com/MIgardener   Follow Bloom and Grow Radio:  Instagram: @bloomandgrowradio Facebook: @bloomandgrowradio Join the Garden Club! www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club Website: www.bloomandgrowradio.com  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today’s short and sweet Plant Side Chat is honoring my first balcony herb garden and the lessons I learned, since I just planted up my new garden for this upcoming season. One of my favorite stories to tell is the story behind our first Tomato Plant, why it was kind of an epic #plantfail, but how it was the most important plant in the garden to learn from that summer. Tune in to learn why and how the lesson I learned from it applies to so many facets of life.   www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club @bloomandgrowradio Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Joe “Mr. D” Dombrowski is a 3rd (5th next year) grade teacher from Chicago, IL. His passion for education and lighthearted approach to engaging with students has captured the hearts of millions with his viral videos and instagram accounts @mrDtimes3. He has been featured on The Ellen Show, The Kellie Pickler and Ben Aaron Show and many more. He is a young, passionate teacher that is changing the game for how young students learn. AND he is a plant person! Joe and I became friends on instagram and he let me know how he is using plants in the classroom and I instantly knew we needed an episode together. Plant People span all sorts of professions and Joe is a perfect example of how to take you plant passion and let it elevate whatever you’re doing and impact people around you. Also, since I know some listeners are teachers, but also many listeners are mothers or fathers, I know this episode is going to have a ton of fun, inspirational projects for you to do with kids in your life!   In this episode we learn: - Joe’s journey into the classroom - Joe’s journey as a green thumb and how it’s influenced his teaching - Joe’s personal collection vs his classroom collection and how they differ - How to use a petting cactus to encourage presence and stress relief in the classroom - How the #embraceyourself (#embraceyourweird) movement started - How Joe uses plants to teach discipline and kindness in class - What the “botanist” of the classroom does each week - How he’s used growing food to help learn problem solving - How to problem solve a low light classroom - Best recommended starter plants for the classroom - How to use plants to teach various subjects - Favorite plants of the classroom   Mentioned in the episode: www.donorschoose.org Thai Cook Friendship Garden @cook_in_the_classroom https://linktr.ee/cook_in_the_classroom Aerogarden links Aerogarden (6 plants) https://amzn.to/2LbQR3u Aerogarden Sprout (3 plants) https://amzn.to/2xsTufm Aerogarden Cherry Tomato Kit https://amzn.to/2IZk5FW Aerogarden Lettuce Kit https://amzn.to/2J3bmhT *Bloom and Grow Radio is an amazon affiliate partner and may receive a portion of the sale with no extra cost to you* Follow Joe and his Planty and classroom adventures! Instagram: @mrdtimes3 Facebook: Joe Dombrowski Twitter: @mrdtimes3 Youtube: Joe Dombrowski   Follow Bloom and Grow Radio:  Instagram: @bloomandgrowradio Facebook: @bloomandgrowradio Join the Garden Club! www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I’m so happy to have Summer Rayne Oakes of @homesteadbrooklyn back on the show for a second time. You might have heard her back in the day in episode 04 of Bloom and Grow Radio, when we talked about Advanced Plant Parenthood and the joy of Plant Swaps. Speaking of Plant Swaps- Summer Rayne is hosting another plant swap in NYC on Sunday July 15th. The link to get your ticket will be in the show notes. Summer Rayne is a model/activist/entrepreneur who is famous for her Brooklyn apartment in which she has over 670 plants. She has dedicated the last decade of her life to being a champion for sustainable practices in the fashion, beauty and food industries. She is the founder of Homestead Brooklyn, a blog and Youtube channel created to help bring more nature to urban living. Her youtube series, Plant One on Me is one of my personal go to resources for learning more all things house plants. When I realized I wanted to do an episode on pest control, I knew I needed to ask Summer Rayne to come back on because she has degrees in both environmental science and entomology. Yes… that’s a degree in insects. So how lucky are we that she joined me for an epic conversation on pests, what they are, why we get them and how to control them. Summer is not only a plant mom, but is well known for her pet chicken, Kippee, who you can hear clucking throughout the episode is you listen closely. In this episode we learn What an insect actually is Why bug activity spikes in spring/summer General practices for preventing pests in general How to properly wash an infected plant The skinny on east pest: fungus gnats, scale, mealy bugs, aphids, spider mites, root pests, white fly Best practices when treating bug infestations How to use beneficial insects to actually cure your pest problem (yes that’s a thing and Summer Rayne makes a great case for it!) Lacewings vs lady Bugs How do nemotodes work Bringing plants indoors Can pets transport bugs. Follow Summer Rayne: IG @homesteadbrooklyn Facebook @homesteadbrooklyn YouTube @summerrayneoakes "Plant One On Me" Website: www.homesteadbrooklyn.com Twitter: @sroakes  Plant Swap info here Follow Bloom and Grow Radio:  Instagram @bloomandgrowradio Facebook @bloomandgrowradio Join the Garden Club! www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Fiddle Leaf Fig, also known as Ficus Lyrata, has been steadily taking over our instagram, pinterest and drool worthy magazine spreads for some time now. It seems to be many interior designers favorite planty accent to a room. Although it may be a plant that’s a go to for design, it isn’t a recommended “beginner” plant, as it’s been known to be somewhat finicky or high maintenance. Today, Erin Kobayashi, of the instagram account @leighkiyoko, joins us to talk all things Fiddle Leaf Fig. Erin is the proud plant mom of TWO fiddle leaf fig trees: Figgy Spice and Notorious F.I.G. and she joins us to discuss her journey caring for these plants and what she’s learned along the way. She is also the cofounder of the #FLFFriday hashtag with @alina.fassakhova and shares the reason for creating the #flffriday movement. In this episode we learn: -The story behinds Erin’s personal collection and what plant she is loving these days -The stories behind her two insta famous Fiddle Leaf Figs- Notorious FIG and Figgy Spice - Fiddle Leaf Fig Care 101- water, light, fertilizing, pruning Types of Fiddle Leaf Plants Why they are so appealing - Why Erin created #FLFFriday with Alina Mentioned in the conversation: Fiddleleaffigplant.com Black Coral Taro (Colocasia Esculenta)   Follow Erin and Figgy Spice and Notorious FIG IG: @leighkiyoko Use #FLFFriday to connect with other Fiddle Leaf lovers in the world! and follow the other founder @alina.fassakhova   Follow Bloom and Grow Radio: Garden Club: www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club IG: @bloomandgrowradio Facebook: www.facebook.com/bloomandgrowradio www.bloomandgrowradio.com Special thank you to the Bloom and Grow Radio Media Plant Lady Intern Chelsey Zaplachinski for editing this episode! She is another Canadian on the Bloom and Grow Team! Check out her incredible planty photos at @plants_vs_cats and her gorgeous photography portfolio @chelseymeganmedia Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Plant Friends... this could be the most epic interview on Bloom and Grow Radio yet. Clocking in at about 1 hour and 45 minutes, this one is a doozy and chock full of so much fun planty information. I sat down with Danae Horst three separate times to talk about how she created and grew her incredible Plant Shop, Folia Collective. Danae is an incredible plant lady/ boss lady who I’ve become friends with over social media, and now IRL, and has an incredible story behind the success of her Brick and Morter Shop in LA, Folia Collective. She shares her story and tips for budding planty entrepreneurs interested in creating their own businesses around plants. I know that diving into more of a business focused show is a bit of a departure from our usual plant care tips, but I know many listeners are actually in the plant business space in their day to day lives, or if you aren’t- we all plant shop and I thought this episode will give us a great appreciation for the hustle and passion that goes behind the makings of a planty empire. Plant Friends, this is a juicy episode for you to enjoy all throughout the week (as it might take a couple of listens to finish it) but I am just so thankful to Danae and her beautiful energy, helpful advice and her patience with me asking very specific and neurotic questions about business- you don’t want to miss it!   In this episode we learn about: - Danae’s personal plant collection and journey to plant parenthood - Her time at The Jungalow - The behind the scenes view of the beginning of Folia Collective - How she started the Folia Collective Pop Up shops - The transition from Pop Up Shop to Brick and Morter Store - How to use Instagram and IRL to build community - How to find plants to sell - How Danae managed the growth of the first year of Folia Collective Brick and Morter - Danae’s top lessons she learned from a year in business - How to be thrify to create buzz about your business - How to use social media to grow your business and community - How important community is for a business - Tips on how to source planters and merchandise - Budgeting tools and tips - The downsides to owning a plant shop Links Danae mentioned in our conversation: Waveapps.com Liveplan.com Follow Danae and Folia Collective: IG:  @foliacollective  @danaerolynhorst Website: www.foliacollective.com and www.jungalow.com/plant-o-pedia Follow Bloom and Grow Radio: Garden Club: www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club IG: @bloomandgrowradio Facebook: www.facebook.com/bloomandgrowradio www.bloomandgrowradio.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today’s episode is inspired by our mothers. During my most recent giveaway I did on my birthday, I asked you guys to tell me stories about your #plantfriendsIRL. I was totally ready for fun, heart warming stories about your planty friendships, but what I was not ready for was how many of you wrote about your Mothers and Grandmothers. This warmed my heart so much, because it’s been a very important part of my relationship with my Mom and Grandmothers as well. When I realized this, I knew I needed to shine some light and love on it. So here we are with this Mother’s Day Special Episode. I sent a prompt on instagram asking you if you’d call in your stories so we could hear them in your voice, and you did. Making this episode was somewhat emotional for me, and felt like such a privilege to hear your stories and celebrate the women who made you. You guys have already met my incredible Mom on Episode 20, when she gave us her advice on growing tomatoes. My Mom has been such a huge part of my relationship with plants… I honestly don't think Bloom and Grow Radio would even exist if it wasn’t for her encouragement and help with my brown thumb at the beginning of my plant journey. She picked up every phone call, answered every question, and always reminded me to calm the hell down, that plants are resilient things, and that “its really not that complicated, water and give them light and you’ll be fine.” I’m also so excited that it is now outdoor gardening season in NY so that I’ll be able to watch my Mom marvel at her pride and joy, Failla Farm, and promise to keep you all posted throughout the season. Thank you to the following listeners who called in with their beautiful stories (In order of appearance): My Mom J Vida of @booyoohorticulturalist Morgan of @plantingpink Erika of @blackgirl_plantmagic Alessia of @apartmentbotanist Melanie of @pnwonderplants Rachel   To check out my Mother's Day Gift Guide visit: www.bloomandgrowradio.com/mdgiftguide   To join the Bloom and Grow Garden Club visit: www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.