🌎happy earth day 2022🌏

One way I've been trying to work through climate and eco-anxiety is by getting closer to plants, things that grow, soil, leaves, earthworms, bugs. I've been a city girl my entire life, and have never really had much experience with gardens. 
But I was lucky in 2020/2021 to be staying in a relatively rural place, where a lot of people had gardens. A lot of these people were older and enjoyed gardening for its many benefits, but were glad to have an extra pair of hands...an extra pair of voracious and obsessive hands, especially when it came to weeding.

weeding is an interesting practice that I've spent a lot of time thinking about, especially while I was doing the mindless, repetitive work of...weeding. At the end of the day, I found it meditative, relaxing, stress-relieving. I came to really rely on weeding almost as a ritual by the end of my time in Connecticut.

When I moved back to NYC, I was concerned about the immediate, sudden lack of gardening I'd be facing. I was loving gardening so much that I was beginning to dream about the feeling of roots moving satisfyingly through soil, a surreal feeling that I confirmed was shared by a fellow gardener recently.
I considered a lot of different ways I might garden, I even considered walking into a nearby church that had a robust weed issue and asking if they wanted some help. I considered community gardens nearby, but I felt I still had a lot to learn. I ended up striking up a conversation with a volunteer on the High Line, and learned they had volunteer gardeners. I emailed the coordinator with fingers crossed.

Fast-forward several months, and I got to participate in their Spring Cutback. I ended up making the cut to become a Horticulture Partner!! (see last post):

😎😎😎

what a difference a week makes...different areas on the High Line, but the same plant before and after cutback + some sun

I haven't done much yet, but it's been incredible to work alongside professional horticulturists. To work in the sun, and also on a piece of greenery that I have walked along many times. I am learning so much about plants, I'm seeing the seasonal evolution of the gardens up close and personally. I'm learning about stewardship and respect for things that are natural, life-giving, and good in our world.