Joanna Gaines Shares Rare Glimpse Inside Daughter Ella’s Plant-Filled Bedroom at Family’s Waco Home

Magnolia Network star Joanna Gaines may still be struggling to come to terms with her daughter's departure from the family nest—but she has found a new role to focus her energies on now that the teen has headed off to college: caring for her child's "plant babies."

Joanna, 47, shared a rare glimpse inside 18-year-old Ella's bedroom inside the family's Waco, TX, home this week while proudly showing off the many different plants that the college freshman left behind when she moved across the country to begin her next chapter.

In a short video clip posted to her Instagram account, the mother of five revealed a candid look inside the soothing space, which is located on the top floor of the home and features vaulted ceilings that slope down toward the floor.

"When Ella went off to college, I became the caretaker of her plant babies," Joanna explained in the caption. "I hope these pretty plants like me as much as they liked her!"

The reality TV star and renovations expert then added the hashtag "#plantlady" as well as a fairy emoji for good measure.

It marks one of the rare occasions that Joanna has opened up one of the more private spaces of her family's home, having taken steps to ensure that her children can enjoy their anonymity away from the glare of the cameras.

Yet it's clear that Ella has inherited her mother's flair for interior design, with the video revealing a very elegant aesthetic in the room, which is filled with greenery on almost every surface.

At the center of the room is a bed with pink-toned sheets and a small console table is located at its foot—providing another space for Ella to store some of her "plant babies," as well as a few books.

A rainbow can be seen on the wooden floor, suggesting that a sticker has been affixed to one of the windows in order to scatter the light whenever the sun is shining—while an elegant gold-toned light fixture hangs from the ceiling over the bed.

One side of the ceiling boasts several skylights, in addition to another window at the head of the bed, helping to flood the cozy space with natural light.

The video was met with high praise from Joanna's Instagram followers, many of whom joked that the "air quality" in Ella's room must be "glorious" as a result of all the plants that fill the space.

"That’s so beautiful!!!! I know that’s fresh air, peace, and harmony all up and through that space," one person comments, while another added: "Wow what a responsibility! Stunning collection of babies."

Although Joanna appears to be relishing her new role as plant caretaker, she has been open about her struggle to come to terms with her eldest daughter leaving the family home—confessing that she felt much more emotional about Ella moving out than she did when her son, Drake, went to college.

Joanna discussed her second child's impending departure from the family home in a wide-ranging interview in the People special "Chip & Joanna Gaines: Their Next Chapter," not long before Ella started her freshman year.

"Ella, our second kiddo, she's graduating this year. So we're going through that again with another kid leaving the nest and trying to stay emotionally stable," the mother of five explained, prompting her husband, Chip, 50, to ask: "Do you think this is going to be harder [than it was with Drake]?"

"Yes. I think there's an emotional difference," she conceded.

Joanna explained that, because she and Ella tend to spend more time together during the day, she believes she was going to feel a much bigger hole in her life than she did when her son moved out.

"With Ella, we love to go to antiques shops, plant shops, and go get coffee—that's our rhythm. I kind of feel like I'm losing a friend in my everyday life," she said.

As for Ella, Joanna admitted that her daughter couldn't wait to head off to college, particularly because the new setting will give her a chance to establish her own identity, away from her parents' fame.

"She's excited about going somewhere and just being known for her," the Magnolia Network star revealed. "She's like, 'I don't want anyone knowing that you're ... I just want to go and be myself.'"

Establishing an identity outside of her parents' fame—and their popular Magnolia lifestyle brand—is no easy feat for any of the kids, particularly given that the family's hometown of Waco is overrun with the Gaineses' many businesses.

The couple even have their own page on the official Waco website, which calls attention to the many companies that they run out of the town, including Magnolia Home, Magnolia Realty, Magnolia Market, Magnolia Seed & Supply, Silos Baking Co., Magnolia Press, The Shops at the Silos, and multiple rental properties.

Joanna has not revealed where her daughter is studying, only stating that Ella has moved across the country—allowing her child to enjoy a slice of privacy while she adjusts to life as a college student.

However, she did share some insight into her eldest two children's last night at home before their departure for the start of the school year, posting several videos and images from the bittersweet celebration.

"They told me it would go by quicker than I think. That the days are slow but the years are fast. And darn it if they were right. This beautiful gift of time has roared past us all just like I was told," she wrote.

"My oldest son left for his third year of college while my oldest daughter packs for her first year across the country.

"This season already feels like one big, breathless surrender. Lord, how do I hold them close while also letting go?"

She concluded her post with a message to other parents who have yet to experience what it's like to have a child leave home.

"To all the parents packing up and moving kids to new places, and to all those with years still to spare: hold them close, hold them well, and let’s all lean on each other when the time comes to hold it together," she said.