How to Grow: Nurture Your Garden, Nurture Yourself

by Marcus Bridgewater

Overview

In this transformative guide, TikTok’s most popular gardener, Marcus Bridgewater—aka Garden Marcus—offers lessons for growth rooted in lessons from the plant world to help cultivate the soul.

Marcus Bridgewater has been compared to Bob Ross and Mister Rogers for his soothing TikTok videos that relate botany to humanity. A gardener “who shares tips about caring for one’s plants and oneself” (New York Times) and “is not only a trove of information if you’re looking to flex your green thumb, but a balm for the pandemic-induced chaos happening in the world” (Vogue), his soothing observations on plants and life have made him a social media star. In caring for over 600 plants, Marcus has gained invaluable wisdom. Life inside us yearns to grow; like plants, humans maximize their potential when presented with the right conditions. Through care and attention, he reminds us, we can successfully cultivate growth. 

Centered on a trinity of wellbeing—Mental Health, Physical Fitness, and Spiritual Awareness, How to Grow weaves together insights from the garden with stories from Marcus’s life to help you foster personal development. With lessons rooted in his experiences gardening—from how a replanted flourishing sweet potato vine is a reminder that all living things benefit from a change of scene, to how to embrace patience to foster growth—this inspiring guide helps you do “the dirty work” (pun intended) to discover kindness, patience, and positivity within. “We cannot make anything grow,” he advises. “But we can foster an environment where it may grow.”

How to Grow isn’t a gardening book. It is a self-help book that draws inspiration from the garden. Original, timely, and filled with nurturing wisdom, it takes perennial knowledge from plants to teach us about ourselves and opens our eyes to what we are capable of achieving.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063141445
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/24/2022
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,074,276
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 5.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Marcus Bridgewater is a creator, educator, motivational speaker, and plant enthusiast. He is the personality behind Garden Marcus on social media, which demonstrates that a positive, knowledgeable approach to nurturing plants also helps us grow as people. He is the Founder & CEO of Choice Forward, a company that offers life coaching, seminars, and workshops, and he is the author of How to Grow: Nurture Your Garden, Nurture Yourself. He lives in Texas with his wife, son, and a thousand plants.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 Mental Health 21

Cultivating Our Garden Within

1 Observation 31

Take Time to Look Around

2 Preparation 40

Make a Plan for Growth

3 Planting Seeds 50

Choose What You Wilt Sow

4 Patience 58

Don't Push Your Growth

5 Persistence 67

Don't Give Up

6 Experiment 77

Take Notes and Try Again

Part 2 Physical Fitness 91

Managing Growth

7 Energy 103

Establish Rhythm and Find Balance

8 Colors 112

Strive for Balance

9 Shapes 124

Appreciate Form

10 Textures 133

Nature's Reminder to Be in the Moment

11 Layers 143

A Comprehensive View of Physical Well-Being

12 Design 153

Bring Colors, Shapes, Textures, and Layers Together

Part 3 Spiritual Awareness 167

Find Harmony by Nurturing Connection

13 The Self 179

Tend to Each Plant Individually

14 Community 197

Bring Plants Together

15 Environment 213

Share the Same Soil

16 Collective Balance 223

Appreciate Everyone's Contribution

Conclusion 235

Acknowledgments 253

Editorial Reviews

Marcus Bridgewater, who posts on TikTok as Garden Marcus, shares tips about caring for one’s plants and oneself.”  — New York Times

“Garden Marcus is not only a trove of information if you’re looking to flex your green thumb, but a balm for the pandemic-induced chaos happening in the world.”  — Vogue

"Marcus does a stunning job at giving us a soft place to land and explore what it means to lean into our growth with grace, patience, and compassion. This collection is necessary and beautiful! It should be required reading." — Alexandra Elle, Author of After the Rain and How We Heal

“Bridgewater’s planting tips are just as valuable when applied to life.”  — The Root

“In his new book, Garden Marcus sows a nurturing philosophy." — Texas Standard Daily News

From the Publisher

Garden Marcus is not only a trove of information if you’re looking to flex your green thumb, but a balm for the pandemic-induced chaos happening in the world.” 

Vogue

"Marcus does a stunning job at giving us a soft place to land and explore what it means to lean into our growth with grace, patience, and compassion. This collection is necessary and beautiful! It should be required reading."

Alexandra Elle

Marcus Bridgewater, who posts on TikTok as Garden Marcus, shares tips about caring for one’s plants and oneself.” 

New York Times

Bridgewater’s planting tips are just as valuable when applied to life.” 

The Root