advanced plant care, Garden to Table, Gardening, General, General Plant Care Guides, plant care, plant science, plantfriendsIRL, Plants and Wellness, podcast

From Plant Care to Nature Therapy: A Solo Heart to Heart, Ep 322

If you’ve been part of this community for a while, you know how deeply I believe in plants. Not just as living decor or something to keep alive, but as living teachers! For years, I’ve shared watering tips, guidance on repotting plants, propagation tips, and help dealing with plant pests, plant insects, and those frustrating moments when our plants seem like they’re dying for reasons we can’t quite name. And while all of that still matters deeply, I’ve felt a quiet (and sometimes not-so-quiet) pull to go deeper. Because plant care has always been about more than plants. Welcome, plant friends!

In this episode, we learn:

[00:00] A big intention shift for 2026 and a new chapter for Growing Joy!
[02:30] A trip down memory lane for 2025! (doubling content, launching courses, etc.)
[03:25] What went into making the Growing Joy with Plants Masterclass
[04:37] Conferences, industry events, and meeting my fellow plant parents in person!
[06:57] How I may relaunch the Growing Joy Garden Society
[07:37] Personal transitions, health challenges, and putting down roots in Florida
[08:43] Why I feel like I’m outgrowing the constant “how to water plants” content
[09:20] Why I want to focus on “self care through plant care” content in 2026
[10:20] How to water ourselves via caring for houseplants
[11:01] Why connecting with nature matters more than how you do it
[12:41] What’s staying the same and what’s expanding in the podcast
[13:20] Why plants have been my anchor through hard years
[16:34] Becoming a sound bath practitioner and using it to create healing experiences
[17:08] The big announcement: training as a forest therapy guide!
[17:41] What is forest therapy? (aka forest bathing)
[19:12] How forest therapy awakens the senses and calms the nervous system
[20:18] Why modern life leaves us overstimulated and disconnected
[21:14] Remembering we are part of nature (not visitors to it)
[22:11] Creating a podcast mini-series about forest therapy with the help of ANFT
[23:33] Why deeper connection with nature supports planetary health
[25:00] Introducing “Growing Joy in 2026,” a Lunar New Year class series!
[26:08] Reflecting, releasing, and composting lessons from 2025

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Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha Leung

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From Plant Care to Holistic Plant Care

At its core, plant parenthood isn’t just about keeping plants alive. It’s about presence, observation, and patience. Learning to slow down in a world that constantly asks us to speed up.

For many plant lovers, caring for plants becomes a form of home-based wellness without us even realizing it. We check soil moisture before scrolling on our phones. We notice how light shifts through our homes as the seasons change. We adjust humidity for plants and, in the process, often become more attuned to what our own bodies need, too.

The heart of holistic plant care recognizes that caring for plants and caring for ourselves are deeply connected.

Why I’m Becoming a Forest Therapy Guide

In 2026, I’m beginning certification as a forest therapy guide from the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT), also known as forest bathing or nature therapy. While the word “forest” is in the title, this practice isn’t about hiking miles into the wilderness. It’s about slowing down, engaging the senses, and reconnecting with nature in a way that supports mental health and joyful living.

Forest therapy is a guided, intentional time in nature. That could be in a forest, a park, the beach, or even your own backyard! The guide doesn’t fix anything. Nature does the work. The role of the guide is simply to invite people to notice.

What is a Plant Parent?

Plant parents come in all forms. Some of you garden or have one plant on a windowsill. Some of you connect to nature through daily walks instead of houseplants. All of it counts.

Plant parents tend to be sensitive, observant people. We notice things, care deeply, and show up for living things that don’t talk back to us. That alone says a lot.

Learning the How and the Why of Plant Care

Over the years, I’ve poured everything I know about plants into educational offerings so you can feel confident caring for them. That includes the Growing Joy with Plants Masterclass, where I compiled years of experience, interviews, and learning into a complete foundation for plant care.

I’ve also broken that masterclass into mini-courses, focused on specific needs like houseplant care basics, plant pest SOS, and how to shop for plants with confidence. These resources are there whenever you want practical guidance.

Why This Plant Shift Matters Now

We’re living in a time of constant stimulation. We’re glued to screens. Even our downtime feels noisy.

More than ever, people are craving mindful gardening, slower rhythms, and real connection with plants and with themselves.

This shift isn’t about leaving plant care behind. We’ll still talk about gardening, plants, watering tips, and plant pests. The lens is simply widening. The question is no longer only “How do I care for my plants?” but also:

How do plants take care of us?
How do you relate nature to your daily life?
How to connect with the natural world?

Growing Joy in 2026

So as part of this evolution, I’m also offering a two-part class series called Growing Joy in 2026 (YAY!). These sessions are designed to help us reflect, release, and realign with nature’s rhythms as we move into the new year. We’ll explore what didn’t grow, how to compost those lessons, and how to root ourselves more deeply in what truly matters.

This work has always been about growing joy, and you’re already part of this. You don’t need to do more. You just need to notice!