Plant care is self-care. We hear this phrase a lot these days and I just wrote a book entirely dedicated to this topic. If you are a plant parent, no matter what stage you are in, you know that this hobby is so much deeper than just making our home environments look beautiful; they are, frankly, about beautifying our internal worlds as well. Creating space and time for us to connect with nature and connect with ourselves. If you’ve been a longtime listener, you know this is my favorite topic to wax poetic about, and I found a beautiful kindred spirit in this episode's guest. Niyya is known as @thebloomjourney on Instagram and is a huge believer in nature-based self-care herself. Niyya and I have been IG friends for a while and this conversation was so fun, there are tons of insights to gain from it about how deep and true self-care and plant care can be connected. Let's dive in!

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

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In this episode we learn:

• [00:51] What to expect from this episode
• [02:21] How to get in touch with Maria
• [03:00] Where to connect with plant friends in an ad-free platform
• [06:12] How Niyya showed up for Maria at her book launch
• [08:09] How plants can help during isolation and uncertainty
• [09:08] Why plant people are the best kind of friends
• [10:26] Who is Niyya and what is The Bloom Journey about?
• [11:47] How plants helped Niyya deal with social anxiety and find her passion
• [17:37] How the concept of seed dormancy can be applied to our lives
• [21:51] What was Niyya’s experience growing up with plants around?
• [24:35] Niyya and Maria’s common allergy to mosquitoes and how it disconnected them from nature
• [28:08] What plants can teach us about the seasons of life
• [29:34] Learning how to let go through plants
• [30:18] Why you should try planting garlic this garden season!
• [31:39] Bring the sun in your home during winter months
• [33:44] Dealing with plant overwhelm by doing a plant pause
• [36:36] Why you should take care of plants that work for you and for your lifestyle
• [38:08] Why Maria recommends Rhaphidophora's
• [39:02] What plant-life parallel keeps getting reflected back to Niyya recently?
• [42:37] The art of mindfulness and how plants help us reconnect with ourselves
• [46:05] How plants influenced Niyya’s interest for hiking and taking care of her body
• [51:31] The importance of being true to ourselves and to our growth, despite losing followers
• [54:48] How being our authentic selves can inspire others to do the same
• [56:22] What is Niyya’s current favorite way to grow joy in her life?
• [57:25] Where to connect with Niyya online
• [57:59] Niyya shares an anecdote on the power of connecting with people
• [01:00:18] The reality about our experiences with plant care: they are both unique and common at the same time
• [01:01:11] A thank you from Maria to you

Mentioned in our conversation:

• Being in Love: How to Love with Awareness and Relate Without Fear by Osho

Thank you to our episode sponsors:

Soltech Solutions

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