How to Use Plants to Heal From Grief

Growing Joy with Plants - Wellness Rooted in Nature, Houseplants, Gardening and Plant Care

Maria Failla- Happy Plant Lady and Author of Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness

Education, Wellness, Gardening, Leisure, Eco Therapy, Nature Therapy, Self Care, Health & Fitness, Houseplants, How To, Home & Garden, Mental Health, Plants

4.8 • 912 Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Grief is so heavy that it can feel like an impossible weight to carry. But if you think about it, you can use plant care as a method to process grief and loss. Like plants, people can also grow and find resilience. They don’t rush and don’t demand. They just grow… little by little, day by day.In this episode, I want to share the story of my dear plant friend, Wade Lee, also known as Plants by Wade Lee. His story is so much more than houseplant care. It’s about loss, grief, healing, and finding joy again, one leaf, one root, one seed at a time.In this episode, we learn:[00:00] How plants can help you heal from grief[04:22] Wade’s story with grief and plants[10:10] Finding solace in plants[15:14] Find tranquility in every breeze this 2025 with Wind River Chimes![16:55] Learn how to grow more food with less space and effort with the 4th edition of ‘Square Foot Gardening’![18:08] Honoring Steven and new beginnings![22:32] How we connect with the spiritual realm[25:39] How Wade secured a gardener position[29:38] How to use plants as a therapeutic tool for grief[33:43] Finding grace in dead plants[36:28] At what point did Wade begin using social media?[39:53] What are some methods for using plants to heal from grief?[42:44] What is nature in different forms?[45:49] Where can you find Wade on social media?Mentioned in our conversation:Leonardi's NurseryThe Cummer MuseumSoutheast Plant ShowWade Lee’s Hair PortfolioFor Wade's recommendations on how to use plants as a therapeutic tool,check out the full show notes and blog here!Follow Wade:WebsitePodcastInstagramFacebookTikTokYouTubeTwitterThank you to our episode sponsors:Wind River ChimesVisit windriverchimes.com and use code GROWINGJOY to receive free engraving on your chosen wind chimes.Quarto: All New! Square Foot Gardening, 4th EditionGet your copy of All New! Square Foot Gardening, 4th Edition today at your local bookstore, bookshop.org, Barnes and Noble, quarto.com, or amazon.com. Follow Maria and Growing Joy:Order my book: Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha LeungJoin the Bloom and Grow Garden Party Community Platform & App AKA the plantiest and kindest corner of the internet! Get your FREE 2-week trial here!Take the Plant Parent Personality Quiz (Get the perfect plants, projects and educational resources for YOUR Lifestyle)Support Bloom and Grow Radio by becoming a Plant Friend on Patreon!Instagram: @growingjoywithmariaTiktok: @growingjoywithmariaSubscribe to the Growing Joy Youtube channel! /growingjoywithmariaWebsite: www.growingjoywithmaria.comPinterest: @growingjoywithmaria

Transcript

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0:00.0	Grief is heavy. It can feel like an impossible weight to carry. But what if healing could start
0:05.6	with something as simple as a seed? Plants don't rush. They don't demand. They just grow little by
0:10.8	little day by day. And in their quiet resilience, they remind us that we can too. In today's
0:16.1	episode, we're exploring how the act of caring for plants can help us process loss, find comfort, and
0:21.4	reconnect with life, one leaf, one root, one moment at a time.
0:32.2	Welcome to the Growing Joy with Plants podcast, where we not only learn how to care for
0:36.6	plants successfully,
0:43.2	but how to simply and affordably use our plant babies to cultivate more joy in our lives by doing so.
0:48.7	I'm Maria, former plant killer turned happy plant lady, author of Growing Joy, The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness, speaker, podcaster, and most importantly, your new best plant friend.
0:55.3	On Growing Joy with plants,
1:00.1	you'll find conversations about house plant care, gardening tutorials, and wellness through the lens of plants. Plant care is self-care on growing joy. Hello, plant friends. My name is Maria. I'm here to help you care for plants and grow joy. If you're new here, welcome. So excited to meet you. And if you are returning guests, returning listener, welcome home. What a privilege it is to be a part of your plant parenthood journey. Today is a very special episode. It's a conversation with my plant friend Wade.
1:28.2	You might know him on Instagram or online as plants by Wade Lee, who has suffered a tragic
1:34.7	loss in his life, the passing of his husband, Stephen, to pancreatic cancer a couple of years
1:40.7	ago. And Wade found solace and healing in the nurturing presence of his plants.
1:45.7	It's a really interesting journey about how plants helped him heal, helped him cope,
1:51.2	and his journey led him to becoming a full-time plant parent, establishing Plants by Wade Lee,
1:56.8	which is a podcast and plant consulting, and he's even a full-time gardener. So today, Wade opens up
2:02.6	about his grief journey and how plants played an integral part in his healing.
2:10.4	Wade, I'm so happy to have you on the podcast today. Welcome. Thank you so much. I am
2:14.9	honored to be here. First, just have to say, like, I'm so proud of you.
2:18.5	We've been plant friends now for, I don't know, has it been two years, three years?
2:23.1	Two years, yeah, at least two years. Yeah, and I just feel like you've come onto the plant scene with such
	...

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