Honestly, I've been feeling so overwhelmed and uninterested in curating my thoughts and feelings about plants and plant parenthood. It’s been a hell of a year and although I’m all about keeping it positive, I’m also all about keeping it real. And lately, social media has made it hard to share authentically. That's why when Christy, a Garden Party founding member, started this plant parent confessional in the Garden Party platform, members had space to post about things they do that wouldn’t pass the Instagram cut: plant fails and “bad” plant parent practices. So, this episode is community-based, from Garden Party members who called in and submitted their confessionals. I'm sharing them with you in hopes to just normalize the messiness of plant parenthood and tell you that no matter where you are on your plant parent journey, you’re welcome here :)Join the Bloom and Grow Garden Party!Join us in the plantiest and kindest corner of the internet: our private community platform and app with dedicated conversation topics, quarterly meet ups, regional groups and the ability to find plant friends near you and so much more!Join the Garden Party and become a Plant Friend!Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast,so you don't miss the amazing episodes we have coming up!In this episode we learn:[01:39] What inspired Maria to have a confessional episode[04:28] Meet Christy, one of Garden Party’s Founding Plant Friends[05:23] Plant care confessions: fertilizing, repotting, disinfecting tools, and more[07:29] How imperfections are the best learning opportunities in plant parenthood[08:14] A Tradescantia zebrina "Purple Tinge" confession[09:59] Why we should normalize falling out of love with our plants[10:51] A confession about cuttings and propagation[12:33] Repotting in the fall and winter, does that make you a bad plant parent?[14:04] Where to get the best indoor and outdoor gardening products[15:40] The best seed provider for year-round harvest![17:03] A frugal plant parent confession[18:09] When you give good plant parent advice— that you don’t do yourself![19:56] Do you isolate your new plants when you bring them home?[22:12] When Maria caught Billy in a cute plant parent moment[23:22] A plant parent’s ‘lazy approach’[24:44] The pressures of Instagram and color editing your plants[26:12] How social media can affect the way we perceive our plants and our own plant journey[28:21] Maria’s reminder: take care of yourself, plant friend![29:28] Maria’s confessions[31:24] The plant parent practice that helped Maria regain her plant parent confidence and joy[33:41] Plant parenthood is messy! That’s how it’s supposed to be, and you are not alone[34:40] Exciting news for the Bloom and Grow Radio Podcast!Thank you to our episode sponsors:Espoma OrganicEspoma 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 learn more about their pet safe indoor and outdoor gardening products, visit espoma.com to find your local dealer or check out my Amazon storefront of my favorite Espoma products here.Territorial Seed CompanyTerritorial Seed Co provides high-quality seeds and plants (over 2000 varieties) that are tried and tested on their 75-acre farm and have a ton of fall varieties for us to try! Most of us think of the gardening season as spring and summer, but with the right timing and varieties for your location, you can grow year-round! Territorial Seed Company carries lots of varieties to start in summer and harvest in late fall, winter, and even over winter. For seeds, plants, online garden planner, how-to videos and more, visit TerritorialSeed.com and use code BLOOM10 for 10% off on your first order.Follow Maria and Bloom and Grow Radio:Join the Bloom and Grow Garden Party Community Platform & App AKA the plantiest and kindest corner of the internet!Take the Bloom and Grow 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 and Facebook: @BloomandGrowRadioTiktok: @bloomandgrowradioSubscribe to the Bloom and Grow Youtube Show! /BloomandgrowradioWebsite: www.bloomandgrowradio.comJoin the (free) Garden Club: www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club