I’m pleased to announce that my 6th book, Grow Curious: A Journal to Cultivate Wonder in Your Garden, is now available for pre-order and will be published February 1, 2022 with Chronicle Books. The day before we went into the first lockdown in mid-March 2020, I signed a contract with to remake the Grow Curious …
I have so much to say right now, but my tongue is tangled in knots. I feel so much right now, but the discomfort makes me want to hide. There is so much discomfort: Of the violence we are seeing unfold daily. It’s a brutality and injustice we’ve all known was there… but perhaps it …
It was a nice enough day. There were pockets of sun. The pathways were dry and it was warm enough to work without gloves. I was enticed into the garden with plenty of good excuses. The elderberry needed pruning. So did the Rose of Sharon. And the Rosa glauca. And the black elder. And the …
Yes I did, and almost a month early! It’s a pretty good one, too. There are two reasons for the advanced harvest. One is that we’ve had a fairly mild March so far. Temperatures have gone above zero Celsius a number of times, for longer periods of time. As a result, plants kept under the …
I had a bad night of sleeplessness and pain. Too much anxiety. Too much worry about things I can’t control. Trying to predict what comes next, because my go-to is vigilance, as if that has ever kept me safe. Spoiler: it just keeps me in a state of sympathetic dominance (RE: stressed out). Eventually, I …
When I was working on my book, Grow Curious, I decided that I would include a pressed leaf or flower from my garden in random copies of the book. If you bought a print copy, please turn to page 87 to see if you got one. Pressed hosta leaf from my garden. I’ve pressed many …
I had to tiptoe and grasp, move slowly, carefully over treacherous ice. Every move counts. I do not want to die this way, not here, not yet please and thanks. But wouldn’t you know it at the back of the garden where the land is higher and the sun is brighter Way down low, hidden …
Saturday was dark and rainy, the sort of day that you spend indoors huddled up, moving slowly, drinking warm liquids, binging on movies or a series, and making stuff. Just the day before, I discovered the Craft in America documentary series, which is probably how I came to the conclusion that it was a good …
In late April, 2000, my partner Davin and I took a 2 week trip through Oaxaca, Mexico. We could not afford airplane tickets to Oaxaca City, so we flew to Mexico City on a cheap deal, took a taxi to the bus station, and a long bus ride to Oaxaca City. After a few days …
December 17, 2009. Travelling up or down Dominica’s mountainous roads on foot is not easy. Then again, travelling in a car is not particularly easy either. For the human body, heat is the main factor. Asphalt at noon is unbearable and the climb is steep. That I arrived at every destination, repeatedly, and without ever …
In late October, once most of the houseplants had been moved back indoors for the winter, I posted a series of photos to my social media accounts documenting the main spaces in my home where plants are kept. I thought I’d post them here with some explanatory text. As I have written before, my living …