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

What Is Naturalistic Gardening and Why It Might Change How You Garden Forever

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

🗓️ 6 May 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How do you create a natural garden? Is that even possible? I want to bring you to the style of garden that’s not only sustainable but also more resilient, and honestly, more fun. In fact, it might even be the future of gardening. Natural or naturalistic garden is an approach that’s all about working with nature instead of trying to control it. To help explain this topic, I brought on my dear friend, Kelly D Norris, a renowned horticulturalist, award-winning plantsman, and the author of  Your Natural Garden.


In this episode, we learn:

  • [02:40] How did Kelly get started with gardening?
  • [07:46] What is a natural garden?
  • [09:06] What are "native plants" in natural gardening?
  • [13:42] How does ecological landscape design look in different settings?
  • [15:43] Coolibar
  • [17:42] Wind River Chimes
  • [19:30] Ecological landscape designs
  • [22:41] How to measure direct sunlight
  • [29:04] Rewilding and selecting plants
  • [31:18] Dovetail Workwear
  • [33:08] Espoma Organic
  • [34:27] Regional plant palettes and resources
  • [39:12] How does ecological gardening vary across US regions?
  • [40:23] How to create ecosystems for wildlife
  • [44:20] Tips for achieving a natural garden
  • [47:37] "Aesthetics of ecology" and "ecology of aesthetics"
  • [52:01] Where can you find Kelly and his book online?


Mentioned in our conversation:


Interested in taking the first steps in creating a natural garden?

Check out the full show notes and blog here!


Follow Kelly:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

LinkedIn


Thank you to our episode sponsors:

Coolibar

Protect your skin with Coolibar and save 25% off your order at coolibar.com with code GROWINGJOY25.

Wind River Chimes

Visit windriverchimes.com and use code GROWINGJOY to receive free engraving on your chosen wind chimes.

Dovetail Workwear

Grab a pair today and get 10% off at dovetailworkwear.com/growingjoy. The discount is applied at checkout and promo is limited to one per person.

Espoma Organic

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

Tiktok: @growingjoywithmaria

Subscribe to the Growing Joy Youtube channel! /growingjoywithmaria

Website: www.growingjoywithmaria.com



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


Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Imagine a garden where the plants thrive without constant intervention, a place where nature does most of the work and all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the beauty.

0:11.8

That sounds like a dream, right?

0:13.6

But what if I told you it's not only possible, it might be the future of gardening because it's more sustainable.

0:19.4

In today's episode, we are diving into the world

0:21.6

of naturalistic gardening, and you might just discover a whole new way to approach your garden.

0:32.9

Welcome to the Growing Joy with Plants podcast, where we not only learn how to care for plants

0:37.5

successfully, but how to simply and affordably use our plant babies to cultivate more joy

0:42.4

in our lives by doing so.

0:44.4

I'm Maria, former plant killer turned happy plant lady, author of Growing Joy, The Plant Lover's

0:49.4

Guide to Cultivating Happiness, speaker, podcaster, and most importantly, your new best plant friend.

0:54.9

On growing joy with plants, you'll find conversations about house plant care, gardening tutorials,

0:59.6

and wellness through the lens of plants.

1:02.0

Plant care is self-care.

1:04.8

On growing joy.

1:28.2

Hello, plant friends. My name is Maria. I am here to help you care for plants and grow joy. If you're new here, welcome. If you're a returning listener, welcome home. So honored to be part of your planty journey. And today, we are having a bit of a heady conversation, a bit of a philosophical conversation, as well as a very practical application that you'll be able to apply. Lots of things you learn. Today I'm joined by Kelly Norris. He's a renowned

1:32.9

horticulturist and author of the new book, Your Natural Garden. Kelly has made a name for himself

1:37.5

advocating for gardens that work with nature and not against it. And in this conversation, we really

1:43.2

explore this concept of naturalistic gardening,

1:46.1

the concept of place, the concept of honoring the lamb that you live on, and how in doing that you can

1:52.4

create a more sustainable, beautiful, and low maintenance garden. Kelly's insights might inspire you

1:57.4

to rethink your own gardening practices, tear up that lawn and plant some more

2:01.6

flowers, and cultivate a more harmonious space with nature. I'm so excited for you to hear this

...

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