Episode 133: Growing Creativity: Gardening, Cut Flowers, and Creative Life Beyond Social Media with Jessica Murnane
Podcast
Episode 133: Growing Creativity: Gardening, Cut Flowers, and Creative Life Beyond Social Media with Jessica Murnane
"The absence of social and the introduction of more silence is what's nourishing my creativity." — Jessica Murnane
This episode is your invitation to rethink creativity through the lens of nature, generosity, and play. I’m joined by gardener, author, horticultural therapy practitioner, and founder of Basker, Jessica Murnane, for a conversation about growing cut flowers, stepping away from social media, and cultivating a creative life that feels deeply nourishing.
Jessica shares how gardening became a turning point in her own healing journey after recovering from major surgery. What started as learning to grow cut flowers evolved into a practice of creativity, hope, and connection. She explains why gardening isn’t just about growing plants—it’s about growing calm, reducing stress, creating community, and reconnecting with yourself.
We talk about creativity beyond productivity and the pressure to monetize every hobby. Jessica reflects on creating simply for the joy of making, whether that’s growing varieties of cosmos, arranging flowers, or filling your home with beauty that doesn’t need to become a business. Creativity, she reminds us, can simply exist for you.
Jessica also shares why she made the bold decision to leave Instagram. After years of creating online, she realized social media was limiting her creativity through comparison, noise, and constant visibility. Instead, she now finds inspiration through books, magazines, silence, and nature, while creating her own “social feed” directly on her website as a slower, more intentional way to share her work.
Whether you’re growing a flower garden, writing a book, taking a break from social media, or looking for a gentler way to nourish your creativity, this conversation is a reminder that creativity doesn’t always ask us to be “on”. In fact, Jessica is on a break from her Substack. Perhaps, you can align yourself with her vibe, even for a moment, this summer.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or on your favorite podcast platform while you cook, clean, or create. Get the full show notes & transcript below.
Questions to Reflect On:
Sit with these questions: Journal, take them on a walk, create a voice note, chat with a friend, or sit with a cup of tea and reflect on them.
Leave a comment below or or connect with us on Instagram @chefcarlacontreras & @jessicamurnane to share your takeaways from the episode.
1. What am I creating simply for the joy of it?
2. How does nature help me reconnect with myself?
3. What would happen if I spent less time consuming and more time creating?
4. How can I bring more beauty into my everyday life?
5. What small act of generosity could I offer someone this week?
Disclaimer: Always seek the counsel of a qualified medical practitioner or other healthcare provider for an individual consultation before making any significant changes to your health, lifestyle, or to answer questions about specific medical conditions. If you are driving or doing an activity that needs your attention, save the energy practice for later. This podcast is for entertainment and information purposes only. Note: Some of these are affiliate links. I receive a small percentage of the sales. I appreciate your support of my small Latina & women owned business.
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Jessica Murnane
Over the span of my career, I’ve worked as a designer (creating paper goods and brand identities for people and places). Did trendspotting and content creation for magazines. I’ve consulted for food, fashion, and lifestyle brands. Opened a bar. Written some books. And most recently went back to school to become a horticultural therapist and launch my practice, Basker.
Which makes it hard to know what to say when someone asks me “what do you do?” But I can say that I’ve gotten to work on some pretty incredible projects over the years - and that I really love working with people who are passionate about making ideas happen.
I’m always open to talking about new projects – how plants can change our lives, women’s health, and research design – so feel free to reach out to me at jess@onepartplant.com.
Find + Work With Jessica Murnane
Full Transcript:
Carla (00:03):
Welcome to Nourishing Creativity. I'm Chef Carla Contreras. If you don't know me, I'm a content strategist, food creative, and podcast host. Today's guest is Valerie Oula and I am so excited to have you here, Valerie. Can you introduce yourself and how you serve your community?
Valerie (00:25):
Sure. Hi everyone. My name is Valerie Ula. I'm the founder of Modern Ritual NYC. I am an energy medicine practitioner. I teach meditation and Reiki and other energy modalities. I also am a sound healing practitioner. So essentially my work is through vibrational medicine and I teach classes here in New York City as well as online and I work with clients one-on-one and I've been doing this work for almost two decades and I'm so excited to be here with you.
Carla (01:04):
What was the last experience that sparked creativity for you?
Valerie (01:09):
I mean, there's so many. I feel like we just got off a solstice activation Zoom and my creativity feels absolutely lit up right now. We are vibing with the solstice energy. It is peak sun energy. And I literally woke up at 4:45 this morning ready to go. I'm like, all right, I'm activated and I am ready to play in this energy. We're literally in summer and it is the energy of play. So super excited to dive into all things summer right now. I even have my summer stack on. I know this is not a video, but my summer stack are just really fun, colorful little bracelets. And that is my favorite thing for summer to do is to put on a summer stack of bracelets or a summer stack of rings.
Carla (02:03):
I love it. Valerie, how do you define creativity when it comes to your work?
Valerie (02:08):
Creativity is absolutely tied to intuition and to divine inspiration. And it's key to really have that channel open, to really to be able to pay attention to all these little nudges of magic that the universe is constantly sharing with us. And when we allow ourselves to receive those nudges, to receive that divine inspiration, the very next step is to actually take action. I mean, I know me, I get ideas all the time and not every idea gets to be brought forth, but it is important to bring forth some of the ideas that keep coming back up over and over again. And it's like we have to keep iterating and we have to keep allowing these ideas to move through because the universe is allowing us this inspiration and it's looking for a way to be birthed into the world.
Carla (03:18):
What is your current relationship with creativity? And I want to ask this through the lens of a few weeks ago we were DMing and you were having an experience of, I'm going to share my creations. Can you tell us about that?
Valerie (03:35):
Yeah, it was very much around visibility. I'm constantly creating. I have 10 million notes written around things that have never seen the light of day and it's time. What are we waiting for? Things aren't going to ever be the ideal time, though I have to say summer solstice is the ideal time because we are in peak creation energy. We are in action. We are in that fire element. But yeah, a few weeks ago I had this download essentially that I was ready to be more visible in the world in the ways that I feel that I haven't. So that actually is what sparked hosting on reels and then you caught that spark and now here we are doing creative visibility summer immersion.
Carla (04:29):
And can you tell us about the immersion in your part? Because we are doing this as a collab. So what does it look like for you to do creative visibility summer with me?
Valerie (04:43):
My part in our summer program, which I like to think of as adult summer camp, is that essentially every month I will be hosting the energy focus where I will be talking about the astro weather and the elemental energy at play that we have access to, that we can actually tap into and use. So we'll talk about energy focus and I will also be hosting on another Zoom two weeks from that. So every other week I'll be hosting something essentially and the second Zoom of the month will be around sound healing and it will be a sound healing activation to help to calm our nervous system, to dissolve blocks, whatever it is that we energetically need to help us to further open up through our nervous system in order to create.
Carla (05:40):
And for me, I'm going to be hosting the physical space to hold your creative projects and dreams. So I'm going to be hosting Creative Study Hall once per week and I also will take the information from Valerie's energy sessions and turn them into creative prompts for you. And these can be used for all sorts of creations. It doesn't necessarily have to be for social media or for Substack, but it could be something related to an art project or a book or something that you've been saying, "You know what? I want to do that someday. This is your space. This is your space to do that. " And Valerie, I'd love to learn about your creative process because we've had a whole creation process when it's come to creating this container. Can you share a litle bit of behind the scenes of this, especially around your astrology and human design?
(06:44)
Well,
Valerie (06:45):
I am a manifesting generator, right? So I'm a two-four manifesting generator and the profile line two, four, two is the hermit and four is the opportunist, right? These are the traditional names that have been given. And essentially it is, I have been hermitting for way past how long I've been meant to hermit. And as a manifesting generator, absolutely requires me to have that spark, that passion, right? Once I catch something that is inspiring and it's on fire, it is my job to put that into action. And four as the opportunist, it's essentially like networking, right? Four is about community and also being out there in the world. And so all of these elements put together adds to how my creative process works. So it requires that strong gut pull, that pull towards creation and follow through. And so a large part of my creativity process is also meditation and it is through meditation and structure that I can receive what the thing needs to look like.
Carla (08:03):
And what about the Capricorn Moon? Because we're starting officially on 629.
Valerie (08:11):
Right. So the way I like to think about it is this solstice kickoff we just did on Zoom where the replay is available is that peak fire energy, right? Taking action, calling everyone in with that light like a lighthouse calling it all in. And we begin on the full moon, still full illumination, being seen what's been in the dark, that full moon is in Capricorn. Capricorn is about structure and discipline and building for the long term, right? Building the foundational, essentially what will be our legacy. And it comes back to what are we here to bring forth into the world? This is the time to do it. Someday has to be now.
Carla (09:00):
Can you tell us about Creative Blocks? And I want to ask this around the challenges of Chiron.
Valerie (09:09):
Chiron is the wounded healer. It's essentially the key to unlocking how we're getting in our own way. I talk about this a lot. My Chiron is in Aries in the 10th house and Aries is around leadership and initiation. 10th house is about career and public eye and being seen. And my work I know is to allow myself to be seen more than I already am. I've been out and about for almost two decades in this kind of wellness work, but I haven't even scratched the surface of my potential. And I feel like when we look, this might be something fun as an added bonus. Whoever is in creative immersion with us, let's look at your charts and let's see where that key is for you. How do we unlock that thing for you? So Carla, for you, your Chiron is in Taurus in the 12th house and 12th House is about what's hidden and what's been kept secret and Taurus is the energy of stability and security and the material world and worth.
(10:26)
And so unlocking wounding around those themes is how we begin to move through these blocks. But I also think it's fascinating and there are no such thing as coincidences. I am a Taurus. Karla is an Aries. My Chiron is in Aries. Her Chiron is in Taurus. And so this work that we do together is also very synchronous.
Carla (10:54):
It's so healing for the both of us.
Valerie (10:57):
It's so healing. It's literally healing.
Carla (11:00):
I asked this question in our summer solstic extavation and I'm curious if you want to share your answer. What will it look like in late September for you after your summer of creative visibility?
Valerie (11:19):
I love that question. I remind myself that it is not about extreme productivity, getting shit done, but there also is some element of it, right? Like putting forth the work that I've been afraid to do and I get to do it in community with you and with everyone else who joins us. So what it will look like in September for me is that the Substack that I have been resistant to really gets to open up and take its shape. Also, I think showing up more regularly, sharing emails with my mailing list and also on Instagram. So again, all these themes for me around being seen and being more visible and sharing my work with the world.
Carla (12:09):
And we talked about this on our live and we'll put a link to the live. We have not talked about this. Valerie and I went live yesterday. It was hilarious because both of us had not gone live in a very long time. And also after this, I was like, I am so activated. How was it for you to go live?
Valerie (12:33):
I loved it. It's been so long and the last time I think I tried to ... Someone invited me to do a live was with IIN and for some reason it wasn't working because I don't know, WiFi was being weird in my office so we didn't actually get to do it. But live is so fun now that you can put a filter on. All kinds of things are different with lives now.
Carla (12:55):
Yeah. And it was like a point of us being visible before our activation.
Valerie (13:02):
True.
Carla (13:03):
I'm curious too, because you said this during our live is that part of this is our assignment, like to show up and not only show up for ourselves, but to show up for the community who's coming along with us.
Valerie (13:21):
Yeah. I think that of course we're all responsible for our individual work in the world, our soul purpose and soul purpose can mean so much. I don't want soul purpose to be like the be all, end all, but we're all here to share things. The more that we can show up for ourselves to share our work, the more the collective energy shifts and opens up the energy even more on a collective level. And that's just so healing for all of us. It's absolutely imperative that we show up for ourselves, but also for others in all the ways that we are meant to. If you even have an inkling of something that you have been wanting to share, do it. It's time.
Carla (14:14):
And I want to end this with play. What is something that you would play with this summer in terms of creativity?
Valerie (14:23):
Play for me this summer is actually going to require structure, which it seems like those are opposites, but they're actually not. If I create a structure for myself to play in a certain time that actually allows me to be more creative versus it just being this loose idea, it's like, oh, every day or every week, or maybe I'm joining you on your creative study hall, which I love, that will be my time to really play in a way that helps me to move the needle around the things that I want to share with the world.
Carla (15:06):
I love that. It's like Saturn.
Valerie (15:08):
Yeah. Well, also Saturn's in my 12th house, so it's very hidden. So it is also good for me to make that Saturn less hidden and more visible and more obvious. So I'm super excited for Creative Study Hall.
Carla (15:24):
I can't wait for you to join. It is one of my favorite places to play as well because I also have this structure that I hold for other people, but at the same time, it's holding that structure for myself. Valerie, how can we find you? How can we work with you? How can we support you? And most importantly, how can those join Creative Visibility Summer?
Valerie (15:54):
I am on Instagram @valerieula, V-A-L-E-R-I-E O-U-L-A. My website is Modern Ritual NYC, where you can work with me one-on-one or in a deeper dive container of six months and Creative Visibility Summer, super excited to meet everyone and play together.
Carla (16:22):
Thanks so much for tuning in to Nourishing Creativity. You can find me chef Carla Contreras across all social media platforms and more information in today's show notes. While you have your phone out, please leave a review on iTunes or Spotify. This is how others find this show. I really appreciate your support, sending you and yours so much love.