Bloom And Grow Radio

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

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: - J

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

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

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

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

Welcome to Season 2 of Bloom and Grow Radio Plant Friends! I’m so excited that with Season 2, I am launching the Bloom and Grow Garden Club. The Garden Club is my mailing list on steroids with an online community extension. By joining the club (www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club) you’ll get access to the exclusive Bloom and Grow Garden Club Facebook Group, an online community of plant people and a free download of the special Bloom and Grow Radio “Keep Blooming” Print created by Molly Mansfield. I created the Garden Club to streamline my ability to share Bloom and Grow content and offers to you and to make a space for my plant people to empower and help each other with their plant knowledge and plant babies. For more info visit www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club. Today we are joined by Mariane Garceau, the Associate Director of the Garden Shop at the New York Botanical Garden. Mariane is a horticulturalist who has spent time in several different aspects of the garden world, from working in landscaping,

Plant Side Chat # 3, a short and sweet episode about the changing of the seasons in our external world, and what that can mean for us internally.

I’m so excited to celebrate my TWENTIETH episode with some very special guests today. Craig LeHoullier is THE Tomato man (@nctomatoman to be exact). After a successful career as a chemist in Pharmaceuticals, Craig began a new career as being one of the leading experts on growing tomatoes and celebrating the many varieties that exist. He is an advisor for the Seed Savers Exchange and the World Tomato Society, the co-leader of the Dwarf Tomato Breeding Project, and the author of Epic Tomatoes and Growing Vegetables in Straw Bales. He is responsible for naming and popularizing many well known tomatoes, such as Cherokee Purple. He joins us today to discuss how we, as urban jungle dwellers, even in the smallest of apartments, can grow tomatoes from seed on our windowsills. After my chat with Craig, my Mom joins us to chat a little about what being Italian and growing tomatoes means to her. My Mom is the head farmer at “Failla Farm”, otherwise known as our family home’s front yard, which she transforms every summer

Toronto based Jesse Goldfarb is making a name for himself in the plant world with his creative terrarium designs for his company, Teeny Tiny Terra. You can find him on instagram @teenytinyterra and at www.teenytinyterra.com He has worn many professional hats from  corporate florist to DJ to managing salons but he is currently establishing quite the creative niche for himself as the go to terrarium artist, with a long waitlist of people waiting to bring his creations into their home. You can find him teaching Terrarium tutorials all over Toronto (say that three times fast!) and he is currently working on an online course to reach the masses. We are so lucky that Jesse is joining us today to give us an introduction to terrarium assembly. I’m so excited to get started on my own after learning the basics from him! In this episode we learn: How Jesse’s plant obsession began Jesse’s two most memorable terrariums he was commissioned to make Jesse’s journey from having just two bonsai trees to becoming a full fledged

I’m always excited to welcome Chris Satch from The Sill back to the show for our Plant Science Series. This week we discuss what we need to do to prepare our plants for Spring! Chris gives us the lowdown on pruning, trimming, fertilizing and repotting. We cover a LOT so get your pens out and take notes! This episode is for you if you want to make sure you set your plants up for success to bloom and grow in the springtime!   In this episode we learn: - How and why to prune to promote growth - How to properly wipe and care for leaves that are hurting from the dormancy of winter - What is deadheading and why we do it? - How to prune citrus - How and when to repot your plant - To trim the roots, or not to trim the roots? - The Science behind Fertilizer - Why it’s necessary and when to use it - Chemical vs Natural Fertilizer - What you should do if you want to make #plantfriendsIRL Here is a link to purchase When Green Becomes Tomatoes by Julia Fogliano : http://amzn.to/2HrdDm5   Follow The Sill @thesill and www.t

We are so lucky to be joined by Christine from @workhardplanthard (www.workhardplanthard.com) today to discuss various studies behind how and why plants actually help improve your indoor environment. I have always been intimidated by the actual studies behind how plants clean air and improve people’s mood, since I have no science background. Christine is a full time physician and has done an amazing job compiling these studies and breaks them down into layman’s terms for us today! Christine is also a new plant friend IRL of mine after she opened her home and plant shop knowledge to me on my recent trip to San Diego. We met over Instagram and when I was in San Diego, she picked me up and took me on a plant tour of her favorite local plant shops. I got to see her personal collection, meet her kids and family and it was just the perfect example of human kindness and how we can use instagram to actually get off line and make real life memories. So she is the perfect guest to have on the show as we transition out

Rounding out our two-part House Plant Club Series today is second half of the dynamic duo, Erin Harding of the popular blog and Instagram account @cleverbloom! In addition to running Cleverbloom.com, House Plant Club and working for a Pinterest Management Company, Erin is also a mom of two young, adorable boys and plant mom to a collection of plants that she has been growing over 20 years. www.cleverbloom.com is her blog dedicated to houseplant related care, DIYs and décor. She has great blog posts ranging from gift guides for Valentine’s Day, how to ship plant cuttings, and her top picks for stylish planty interiors. She now also hosts and teaches plant mounting classes in Portland, Oregon. We are so lucky to have her on the show today to give us a step by step guide to mounting our own Epiphytes, or plants that grow on or around another plant, such as ferns, bromeliads, air plants and orchids. This episode is for you if you are interested in learning about the mind behind cleverbloom.com and @houseplantclub

Friendship February for Bloom and Grow Radio will be rounded out by a two part series featuring the two founders of the enormous Instagram account and Etsy shop: @houseplantclub . The two founders of this planty powerhouse, Morgan of @plantingpink (in this episode) and Erin of @cleverbloom (on next week’s episode) actually met and became friends through sharing a Pilea Peperomioides. How perfect to feature them and their plant friendship IRL during Friendship Feb! First up this week we get to know Morgan of @plantingpink and learn how her personal collection and account came to be. Morgan, an expert in growing popular planty Instagram accounts, with @houseplantclub circling around 300K followers and @plantingpink with 62K followers, gives us a tutorial on her top 5 tips for curating and growing the best planty Instagram account. I am also so excited that they have trusted Bloom and Grow Radio to host a major announcement for their brand and company. So listen in for her tips and this exciting announcement! Th

We can’t have a month devoted to Friendship without having an episode on the Friendship Plant, the Pilea Peperomioides! We are so lucky to be joined by the founder of PIEP – the first commercial grower of Pilea Peperomioides in the US to discuss all things Pilea today! www.piep.co is the go to resource for all things Pilea. It ships nation wide and carries not only Pilea but also other drool worthy plants and accessories. Mackenna, the founder of PIEP, is a Pilea specialist and has had such an interesting journey learning to grow this plant. She joins us today to go through not only care basics but also troubleshooting issues and how to care for your Pilea babies correctly! We are so lucky for not only the knowledge she is sharing with us, but she is also offering a special discount to Bloom and Grow listeners so we can all enjoy this happy plant for ourselves! Stay tuned till the end of the episode to learn more! I also want to give a quick shout out to some listeners that came to my rescue this week. I had

Plant Side Chat #2 - Planty Friendships for Friendship February on Bloom and Grow Radio! We dive into the beauty of plant friendships and why they are so important!

I’m very excited to welcome back Chris Satch to the show! Chris is the Plant Scientist and Head of Education at The Sill (www.thesill.com) and is my go to guy for any plant issues I have with my personal collection. The Sill is an amazing plant shop located in Chinatown, NY that not only sells plants, but also hosts monthly educational events and ships potted plants nationwide. I got a lot of requests this winter for an episode on grow lights, and took some time to think about who I wanted my guest to be. I knew that Chris was the perfect person to help break down the science of grow lights because… I don’t really know anything about them! If you listened to Episode 07 with Olena from @TheOperatingSystem when she mentioned her grow lamps, I actually had to ask her what they were because I had no idea you could use light bulbs to help your houseplants grow. How far I’ve come in such a short time! This is a very special episode for Bloom and Grow Radio because it’s the first episode I’ve crowd sourced my listen

Michael Perry is the entrepreneur and self titled “geek” behind the “Mr Plant Geek” empire. But he is, in no way, a tradition “geek”. I like to call him the “bad boy of the plant world." You might know Michael from his Instagram account (@Mr_PlantGeek) or www.mrplantgeek.com which have photos and blogs about the worlds most interesting plants. But they also have a collection of selfies showcasing his rugged good looks, impressive collection of tattoos and ever changing hair color. You also might recognize him from his “Rude Botany” line of t-shirts which have sayings like “Philadelphus erectus” or “Rubus cockburnianus” in bold lettering across the chest. Michael approaches plants with a light hearted, fun approach that is completely unique and absolutely fun to follow along with. But don’t be fooled, although his approach to plants is lighthearted, Michael seriously knows his plants. He spent years developing and creating new creations like the “TomTato” and “Egg and Chips” plants for Thompson & Morgan, E

First part of the Plant Side Chat series where we will explore the lessons learned from caring for plants. Today's topic: Bloom and Grow at Your Own Rate.

Meagan Rosson is the creator behind the Instagram account: Plant_Lady_is_the_New_Cat_Lady. Her two gorgeous cats: Mack and Brooklyn, are quickly becoming “Instagram Famous“ due to Meagan’s hilarious Instagram stories of their impressive acrobatics around her one bedroom apartment and their relationship with her growing collection of 60+ plants. Meagan and I met early on in both of our plant journeys and have watched each other’s love for plants grow. Since I have no pets, I knew Meagan would be the perfect person to discuss the ups and downs with living with cats and plants and the toxic plants to avoid if you have Cats. We have a fun conversation about her hilarious stories of joining her two loves. She also gives some advice and her perspective on how to live successfully with cats and plants, and how to avoid choosing plants that could be toxic if ingested. Disclaimer: we are not Veterinarians, plant toxicity specialists or plant scientists. If you have questions about plant toxicity we encourage you to ch