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Hi Plant Friends! Here we are at our Mother’s Day Special- starring you! Before we dive into these beautiful stories you told me, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has joined the Bloom and Grow Garden Club so far! I am having so much fun getting to know you on our Facebook group and hope you are enjoying your Molly Mansfield Keep Blooming Print. Mine hangs above my desk and gives me such a warm fuzzy feeling every time I look at it. For those that haven’t joined yet, visit www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club to learn more.

I also wanted to remind everyone, that in the spirit of Mother’s Day, I put together a list of fun, unique gifts for your green thumb moms out there, or even your brown thumb moms that need a low maintenance way to green up their interiors. You can find that at www.bloomandgrowradio.com/mdgiftguide .

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.

So obviously, how could I start this Mother’s Day episode with anyone BUT my Mom, telling a funny story about my Nonni. Nonni came over from our small town in Italy when she was 20, and spoke no English. She raised two amazing and successful women, and was the matriarch of my family for most of my life. She passed several years ago, but I have very fond memories of her as a child cooking, laughing, sometimes yelling at me in Italian and being an avid gardener. I’ll let my mom talk about her Nonni’s greenhouse and garden more, but I wanted to share this incredible experience I had at the beginning of my plant lady awakening. So my Mom, Sister and I were in a restaurant, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a small plant, with very familiar leaves. I went up to it, noticed the particular shape of the leaf and touched it’s somewhat fuzzy covering. And then I leaned over and smelled it. At that moment, the somewhat sour, somewhat sweet scent transported me back to my Grandparents greenhouse. It was one of the weirdest, most visceral flashbacks I had ever had. The plant in the restaurant was a geranium, I didn’t even know the name of the plant at the time because I was right at the beginning of my plant journey and didn’t know anything about plants, but I knew that was the plant that was abundant in my grandparent’s house. Back then, I had little interest in their houseplants, and I wish I had appreciated those plants and that space more, and asked Nonni more questions about them when I had the chance to. Over the weekend I got (stole from my Mom) two geraniums that I’ll bee keeping in my apartment, to be able to smell and be brought back to that special place my Nonni and Nonno worked so hard to maintain. I love you Nonni, and know, that you are a part of this new found plant passion in me.

Thank you to the following listeners who called in with their beautiful stories (In order of appearance):

My Mom

Vida of @booyoohorticuluralist

Morgan of @plantingpink  and Episode 15 of our show on how to curate the best planty Instagram account

Erika of @blackgirl_plantmagic

Alessia of @apartmentbotanist

Melanie of @pnwonderplants

Rachel of @everydaylouis

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