Mindblowing Facts About Plants Outside Your Door: 11 Garden Plants with Superpowers

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, How To, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Home & Garden, Leisure

4.8 • 883 Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Did you know that some common outdoor plants have superpowers? Some can survive atomic bombing, clean up radiation, and even outsmart insects. This is Part 2 of my conversation with David Domoney, author of Plants with Superpowers, about the superpowers of outdoor plants. These plants can completely change how you walk down the street and look at nature.

Listen to Part 1 of our conversation about indoor plant superpowers here.

In this episode, we learn:

[02:19] Welcome to part 2 with David Domoney
[03:29] How did ginkgo trees survive Hiroshima?
[06:08] How do sunflowers purify radioactive and toxic soil?
[08:24] How magnolias trap beetles for pollination
[09:31] Calming lavender vs. stimulating lavender
[11:02] David’s lavender gin and tonic recipe!
[13:32] Raspberries with a surprise twist
[13:54] Bee orchid's mimicry superpower
[14:51] Espoma Organic's
[16:14] How do walnuts help our brain?
[17:23] Hedgehog Holly's shape-shifting defense mechanism
[19:24] Can blueberries help with belly fat?
[20:53] What makes rosemary so powerful for memory and wellness?
[24:03] Did Roman gladiators really chew parsley for strength?
[25:13] Curly vs. flat leaf parsley differences
[27:43] Where can you find David's socials and book?

Mentioned in our conversation:

Plants with Superpowers: 75 Remarkable Plants for your Garden and Home
Growing Joy Episode 296: How to Grow Lavender with Rebecca of Lavender Connection
Growing Joy Episode 292: 7 Houseplants with Superpowers with David Domoney

Curious to know which outdoor plant in your area has superpowers?

Check out the full show notes and blog here for David's list!

Follow David:

Thank you to our episode sponsor:

Espoma Organic

Make sure your garden plants are maintaining their superpowers by using organic gardening products! Espoma Organic is dedicated to making safe indoor and outdoor gardening products for people, pets, and the planet. They have an amazing variety of high-quality, organic potting mixes, garden soil, fertilizers, and pest control products that are organic and eco-friendly. To top it all off, they have a huge sustainability commitment with a 100% solar-powered plant, zero waste manufacturing, and eco-friendly packaging.

Visit espoma.com to find your local Espoma dealer or check my Amazon storefront.

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 Leung

Join 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: @growingjoywithmaria

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Subscribe to the Growing Joy Youtube channel! /growingjoywithmaria

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Our Sponsors:
* Check out Manukora: https://manukora.com/BLOOM

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Pop quiz, plant friend, what plant survived the atomic bombing and lived to tell the tale?
0:06.0	What flower traps beetles overnight to guarantee pollination?
0:10.0	And what common herb might have helped Roman gladiators win their battles?
0:15.3	No, I'm not joking you.
0:16.4	There are answers to all of these questions, which will be revealed today in part two of my conversation
0:21.9	with David Domini about plants with superpowers. But this time we step outside, literally,
0:27.7	and explore the superpowers of outdoor plants that are probably sitting right outside your window
0:33.3	and you had no idea how powerful they are. Let's dive in.
0:44.3	Welcome to the Growing Joy with Plants podcast, where we not only learn how to care for
0:48.8	plants successfully, but how to simply and affordably use our plant babies to cultivate
0:53.2	more joy in our lives by doing so.
0:56.0	I'm Maria, former plant killer turned happy plant lady, author of Growing Joy, The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness,
1:02.4	speaker, podcaster, and most importantly, your new best plant friend.
1:06.4	On Growing Joy with Plants, you'll find conversations about house plant care, gardening tutorials, and wellness through the lens of plants.
1:13.5	Plant care is self-care on growing joy.
1:22.6	Hello, plant friends. My name is Maria. I'm here to help you care for plants and grow joy.
1:27.0	Boy, oh boy,
1:27.7	am I excited for today's episode, part two of our two-part series with David Domini, all about
1:32.7	plants with superpowers. Last month, you probably remember David joined us to talk about house
1:37.1	plants with superpowers. And today, we're talking about outdoor plants that you might find in
1:41.8	your garden or in your front or backyard and the crazy
1:45.5	things that they can do that you probably do not know about. In this episode, David reveals the
	...

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