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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?

 

 

Order my book!

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

 

 

What Actually Happened to My Plants

As of recording this episode, I'm 12 weeks postpartum. I'm happy to say that my baby is healthy, but my plants are not.

In about a year, my husband Billy and I got pregnant, I held the pregnancy after losses, we bought a house, renovated it, and moved in less than a month before I gave birth.

During pregnancy, I had gestational hypertension, plus gallstones, which is an IVF side effect. I was induced, had a long labor, and ended up with an emergency C-section where I lost a lot of blood.

My first three weeks with Polpettino were about the two of us surviving. So if you ask me which I’d choose between my baby or my fiddle leaf fig, baby wins ten times out of ten.

If it weren't for my mom coming over weekly, quietly taking care of my plants, everything would be gone.

Note: Mom brain is real. If I don't water a plant the second I think about it, it's not happening.

 

 

This Is a Season, Not a Failure

My brand manager Callie has beaten cancer multiple times (yay, Callie!). During chemo, she came back to a green wall of 35 WallyGrow planters completely infested with mealybugs. She could have given up on them, but she tore it down, repotted everything, and built something better.

I was inspired by that. I used to keep high-maintenance plants under glass, run humidifiers, and mix custom soils. But the only humidifier I'm refilling now is the one in the nursery.

I've grown into a completely different type of plant parent, and I'm letting go of the guilt that often comes with that change.

 

 

The Life Transitions That Change Your Plant Care

This isn't just a motherhood thing. Other reasons might change your relationship with your plants, like:

• Becoming a parent
• Illness and treatment
• Losing a loved one
• Moving to a new home or climate

Losing something, or someone, important can pull you toward your plants or push you away entirely. When I moved to Florida, I had to relearn plant care from scratch.

So call the transition what it is. Then adjust your sails instead of mourning the season you left.

 

 

Low Maintenance, High Impact

That’s kind of like my favorite thing now. Nothing complicated but high impact!

I'm not interested in collecting right now. What I want is big:

• A seven-foot tree in my living room
• Large, bushy pothos trailing over bookshelves
• Six statement plants instead of 60 small ones

Neither approach is better. But if I'm spending less time caring for plants, I can just spend more time being around them and embracing the joy they bring to my life.

 

 

Connecting With Nature When You Can't Care for Plants

I've been indoors almost constantly for three months. Florida summer is brutal, and newborns can't regulate their body temperature.

So I got creative.

• Morning stroller walks, noticing every shade of green
• Foraged bouquets from a few snipped flowers
• Birdsong, and the forest setting on my son's white noise machine
• Clarkson's Farm, all five seasons
• Biophilic design from our renovation, like tile that reads as wood and earth tones throughout

A moss wall is next on my list.

 

 

What's Next For Me?

I’m now in Zone 10B, and I want to attract native pollinators to my HOA block, where every front yard looks identical. Plus tropical fruits, bananas, and citrus. Things I could never grow in zone 5b.

I'm not giving up on plants. I'm just letting my interest expand.

Take an audit as well. What does growing joy look like for you in fall 2026… and how might you want it to look in 2027?

 

 

Mentioned in our conversation:

• Growing Joy Episode 357: Motherhood, Seasons of Life and Changing Plant Passions with Becca De La Plants
• Clarkson's Farm (TV Series 2021– )

 

 

Thank you to our episode sponsor:

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