Exploring the world of gardening. Observations, gardens to visit, thoughts on ecology, gardener interviews, and commentary.
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 …
This December will mark 10 years since my spouse Davin and I travelled to the Caribbean for one month (staying in Barbados, Dominica, and St. Lucia) so that I could be in the lands of my maternal ancestors and trace my roots. For context, there’s a post here that I wrote before the trip that …
The truth is, I don’t really know why I started a website about growing things. I’m sure there were reasons, but I wasn’t entirely conscious of what they were. I have always made things and this was a thing that I wanted to make. I didn’t want to be a writer, except that I also, …
Last week I was in a therapy session and the topic of what I know about plants came up. The therapist asked me where I carry knowledge about plants in my body. Where I feel it. My “body of knowledge,” so to speak. While I understand that our bodies hold experiences, I’d never thought about …
“Welcome back, friends.” Lately, these words keep popping up in my mind as I slowly walk the garden looking for signs of growth and change. Sometimes I say them out loud, too, greeting each plant as they emerge. I feel so happy to see them again. Grateful that we are here, in spring. Back at …
“What if rather than saying, “The garden belongs to me,” you said, “I belong to the garden.” – from my book, Grow Curious I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the years and have picked away at it in big and small ways [see No More War in the Garden]. As a young university …
I did not intend to present you with another creepy crawly post quite so soon. However, in the last one, I briefly mentioned some invertebrates that I have purchased, in addition to those that I have gleaned from the garden. I’ve been waiting anxiously for the first two to moult (shed their old exoskeleton), and …
The creature at your feet dismissed as a bug or a weed is a creation in itself. It has a name, a million-year history, and a place in the world. – E. O. Wilson, biologist and naturalist (see Biophilia) It started with the snails. I’ve been remarking for years that the Banded Wood snails (Cepaea …
This month I will be participating in National Blog Posting Month #NaBloPoMo. I won’t pretend to be able to keep up with publishing a daily post. That’s not realistic for me right now. But I will be able to commit to weekly, hopefully more. I’ve been feeling frustrated with social media lately and realize I …
I grow several allium species and cultivars in my garden and I find that many of them serve as a hub for a surprising range of pollinators. This is nodding onion (Allium cernuum), an easy to grow, multi-use plant that is native to Carolinian habitats (parts of Canada and the US, including right here in …
I have not been very diligent about posting here, but I have continued to follow the directive I set for myself in 2016 to photograph and identify the bees and other insects that inhabit my garden. Aliens in My Garden is a series capturing the fascinating insects that inhabit my small, urban garden. While many …