The Growing Kindness Project

The Growing Kindness Project Our mission is to empower, educate, and encourage individuals to cultivate kindness and connection in their communities by growing and giving flowers.
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Come join us: if you've got a big heart and a little bit of dirt, you've got what it takes!

05/22/2026

I don’t think people realize how much they need spaces like this until they experience one.

Not just the flowers.
Not just the beauty.

But the feeling of finally slowing down long enough to breathe again.
To laugh.
To create.
To connect with genuinely kind people.
To feel inspired instead of depleted.

Every year, women leave this retreat saying some version of the same thing:

“I didn’t realize how much I needed this.”

And honestly?
I think that’s because spaces like this have become increasingly rare.

Spaces where no one is performing.
Where conversations go deeper than surface level.
Where creativity matters more than productivity.
Where strangers become friends surprisingly quickly.
Where beauty is shared generously.
Where you can exhale a little and simply be human again.

✨ Today is the LAST DAY for Early Access pricing for the 2026 Growing Kindness Retreat.

✨ Ticket sales will remain open until sold out, but seats are intentionally limited and are filling quickly.

✨ Scholarships for all past Ambassadors (2019–present) also close tonight.

If your heart has been tugging at this retreat…
this is your reminder not to wait too long. 💛

Comment RETREAT for more info and the link to tickets.

05/22/2026

There’s a different kind of healing that happens when we slow down long enough to notice what’s growing. 🌱

In this conversation with Elizabeth, we step away from the pressure to always be doing, producing, or perfecting — and return to something quieter. Something more grounding. A reminder that tending a garden can also mean tending to ourselves.

This episode explores how flowers became a lifeline through grief, anxiety, and burnout… and how something as simple as growing cut flowers can create space for connection, rest, and meaning in everyday life.

It’s also a gentle invitation to rethink what a garden is for. Not a place to hustle or get it right, but a place to reconnect — with your breath, your people, and the parts of yourself that may have been overlooked.

If you’ve ever felt the pull to slow down, to create something meaningful without needing it to be perfect, this conversation will meet you there.

✨ Comment PODCAST to listen to the full episode.

It didn’t start with a plan. It started with Ashley saying yes. 🩷From one simple act of compassion, she created Watch Lo...
05/15/2026

It didn’t start with a plan. It started with Ashley saying yes. 🩷

From one simple act of compassion, she created Watch Love Grow — something that is now reaching thousands and continuing to expand through everyday people choosing to care.

The words in this post are just a glimpse into her story — a reminder that kindness doesn’t have to be complicated to matter, and that one small decision can ripple farther than we ever imagine.

If you’ve ever wondered whether your “yes” could make a difference, this conversation will stay with you.

🎙️ Comment PODCAST to listen to the full episode.

Our Annual Growing Kindness Retreat is such a special experience that it’s actually hard to put into words…People arriv...
05/15/2026

Our Annual Growing Kindness Retreat is such a special experience that it’s actually hard to put into words…

People arrive carrying stress, exhaustion, uncertainty, grief, transition, burnout, loneliness, or simply the ache of needing to reconnect with themselves and others again.

And somewhere between the flowers, the conversations, the laughter, the shared meals, the quiet moments, and the late-night campfire talks… something softens.

Walls come down. Friendships form. Creativity flourishes. People feel seen and known.

Over the years, this retreat has become one of the most meaningful and transformative parts of Growing Kindness—not just because of what we do there, but because of what happens when kind people gather together with intention.

And this year, your ticket does even more.

The retreat has also become one of our nonprofit’s important fundraising events, helping support and sustain the mission of Growing Kindness long after the weekend is over. Your participation not only fuels you, it helps us continue creating spaces of connection, beauty, encouragement, and kindness in communities around the world.

🌿 What’s new this year:
• Scholarships are open to ALL past ambassadors
• We’ve added option to stay through Sunday, keeping the connection and inspiration going
• Early Access pricing through May 23

🌿And of course, we’ll still be enjoying:
• A day touring local flower farms and gardens
• A floral design workshop
• Beautifully curated lunches together
• Delivering flowers to local long term care residents
• Sips and S’mores around the fire Saturday evening

Be sure to make you calendar for these Important Dates:

• Ambassador Early Access is open now through May 15 at 11:59 PM PT

• Scholarship applications close May 23

• General ticket access opens May 16 for all Growing Kindness team members and supporter

If you’ve been a past ambassador and would like to apply for a scholarship or snag an early access ticket, the details are in your inbox! Or drop us a DM for the link!

If your heart has been longing for a space like this… we hope you’ll come gather with us. 🌿

05/07/2026

What if one small yes could reach thousands?

Ashley didn’t start with a big plan, just a moment of compassion and a willingness to act. From that one decision, Watch Love Grow became something much bigger… a movement where stories of kindness are shared, multiplied, and carried into communities in real, tangible ways.

What’s so powerful about this conversation is how simple it all is. Everyday people choosing to care. Choosing to show up. And watching those small actions ripple farther than they ever expected.

If you’ve ever wondered whether your “one yes” could make a difference… this story will stay with you.

🎙️Comment PODCAST to listen to the full episode.

In this episode, Shari shares what it means to carry grief while continuing to show up with compassion and how, over tim...
04/30/2026

In this episode, Shari shares what it means to carry grief while continuing to show up with compassion and how, over time, meaning can begin to take shape through the way we care for others.

The quotes in this post offer just a glimpse into a conversation that is honest and tender.

If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like to truly be there for someone — or how to carry loss in your own life — this one will stay with you.

✨ Comment PODCAST to listen to the full episode.

04/23/2026

In this episode, Shari shares what it looks like to carry grief while still showing up with care, presence, and compassion. Her story is shaped by years of walking alongside others in their most tender moments, and it offers a perspective that feels both honest and deeply human. 💛

This conversation is a reminder that meaning isn’t always something we find quickly — sometimes it’s something that slowly takes shape through the way we care for others.

🎙️Comment PODCAST to listen to the full episode.

04/22/2026

On Saturday, Growing Kindness founder Deanna Kitchen opened her family’s farm and invited her local community to come pick out free dahlia tubers-with one expectation: she just asked anyone that took dahlias to commit to using the flowers to spread kindness in their local community.

One hundred seventeen people came from all across the Puget Sound. Each one shared an idea or inspiration of how they’ll be using the blooms yo spread kindness.

This is how kindness grows: sometimes with radical generosity and sometimes in quiet, everyday acts of care and compassion.

Deanna shared over 1500 dahlias…but she isn’t quite done yet. Her birthday wish to help as many people to grow and give flowers as possible. She’s saved 10 kits with 20 dahlias each to mail to help someone in need be able to grow and give this season. Any team member is eligible to request dahlias in our online community, The Greenhouse. (Not a member? It’s free and simple to join!)

Deanna has just one more wish: for her 45th birthday (today!) and she would like to raise $645 in donations today to be able to support 45 new Gardeners.

Kindness starts small but can ripples out in the biggest most beautiful ways. If you’d like to give today, comment “DONATE”✨

Content note: This post and episode include discussion of neonatal loss and grief. Please take care while reading and li...
04/16/2026

Content note: This post and episode include discussion of neonatal loss and grief. Please take care while reading and listening. 💛

Some stories are shared with a lot of courage.
Olivia’s is one of them. 🌱
It’s a story of loss, of love that doesn’t disappear, and of learning how to carry both in everyday life.

The words in this post offer a glimpse into a conversation about grief, love, and the quiet ways kindness can help us carry what feels too heavy to hold alone. It’s also a reminder that showing up for someone in grief doesn’t require the right words — just a willingness to be there.

If and when you feel ready, this conversation is here for you.

Comment PODCAST to listen to the full episode.

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