Plant Friends WELCOME to the 100th episode of Bloom and Grow Radio. Wow, I can’t believe we are here. 100 episodes over 3 years, when I really thought we might not get past episode 10. I’m humbled, proud and incredibly honored to have been through this journey alongside you. If you’ve been listening, you’ll know that this podcast was such an insane surprise for me. I’m a professional musical theater performer with a degree is in opera, I’ve spent my life as a plant killer, and now here I am, publishing this episode in celebration of 100 times we as a community have shown up to learn and grow together and nerd out about plants and plant care. What?! I’m so thankful to this community for supporting the show with your listens, shares, contributions and engagement. Beyond thankful. So today is going to be a celebration of just that- this beautiful community.

Speaking of community here are some resources I've made for our community to use!

The 2020 Bloom and Grow Radio Listener Survey – Please take 5 minutes to take this survey and let me get to know you! I did this survey 2 years ago and it was INSTRUMENTAL in planning episode topics and community resources. We had 1000 people complete the survey last time, so my goal for this survey is 3000 planty listeners! I can't wait to hear from you!

The Bloom and Grow Radio Episode Directory! I realize 100 episodes can be overwhelming for any new listeners here, so I went through our 100 episode bank and categorized each episode based on its category: Plant Care, Nerdy Science Breakdowns, Wellness, Planty Business, Seasonal, DIY projects, Edible Gardening, Lifestyle, People and Food. That way, if you are a newbie to the show and feel overwhelmed at the feed, or even if your and OG listener, you can review whatever genre interests you and make sure you haven’t missed any episodes! I will continue updating the directory every 20 episodes or so so it’s always up to date, and I hope that it helps you continue your plant care and wellness education 🙂

Lastly: there’s an epic party happening on IG this week: I'm going live at 1130 EST everyday with one of our favorite guests: yesterday was Leslie Halleck, today Chris Satch, Wednesday Colah from Black in the Garden, Thursday is Summer Rayne Oakes and Friday is Alessia from Apartmentbotanist. We are doing lives where we will have fun plant show and tells and chat and the week is ending in an EPIC giveaway with current and past sponsors of BAGR. Definetly head to @bloomandgrowradio to partake in that giveaway because it is CRAZY!

Top 10 Lessons Learned from 100 Episodes

1. Plants are an instrument for connection
2. Plants make people happy, but they can also make people overwhelmed and anxious.
3. Understanding Light is the Key to Not Killing Plants
4. Using grow lights is an amazing planty home hack
5. Understanding how to water AKA Drainage and capillary action is the OTHER key to not killing plants
6. Plants are a window to wellness
7. With plants, there is always something new to try, no matter how advanced of a plant parent you are!
8. Moss poles are a great addition to your plant fam
9. Anyone can grow their own food
10. Plants are a great way to help children and those in need

Bloom and Grow Radio Goals for the next 100 episodes!

• Continue to connect with our community on a deeper level and get to know you better through the new listener survey

• Spending more time in the private BAGR facebook group

• Designing new ways to get our community involved, virtually for 2020/2021 and IRL in the future!
• Learn more about horticultural therapy and food insecurity and figure out how BAGR can contribute meaningfully
• Grow the brand and business – I feel called to do this full time on a large scale! I'm excited to see how it all blooms and grows!

What’s clear to me is my role in this plant space is to be a community advocate, to learn alongside you, ask the questions you need answered, and foster relationships virtually or in real life with each other so that we can all grow. I believe caring for plants help develop empathy and kindness, and learning those skills will help us make the world a kinder and greener place, and it’s my calling to help as many people successfully care for plants in order to do that.

Thank you for being alongside me for this beautiful ride. Life looks nothing like what I thought it would when I started this podcast 3 years ago. I’m so thankful for that. My plant friends, I adore you, I wish you the plantiest lives full of growth and happiness and that you, of course, keep blooming and keep growing.

Follow Maria and Bloom and Grow Radio:

Support Bloom and Grow Radio by becoming a Plant Friend on Patreon!

Instagram and Facebook: @BloomandGrowRadio

Subscribe to the Bloom and Grow Youtube Show! /Bloomandgrowradio

Website: www.bloomandgrowradio.com

Join the (free) Garden Club: www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club