An update from Starting Out

Plus, some botany 🍃

Hi y’all! 

This time of year, when there’s not a ton of sunlight, just mud and rain, I dig into my gardening books. I’m rereading Climate Change Gardening for the South right now and came across a passage that resonated with me personally: 

“Many native plants have a built-in system for dealing with drought, which is to go temporarily dormant..they just stay put and wait it out.

This temporary dormancy should be respected rather than challenged, which is what happens when we overwater, fertilize and encourage new unsupportable growth. 

Can we see dormancy as a remarkable example of nature’s ingenuity and appreciate the fact that our plants are taking care of themselves in their own way? When conditions are favorable again, the dormant plants will perk up and look more vibrant.”

wilted flowers that will decompose in a new raised bed and make good soil for spring :)

The author of this book has definitely been to therapy. This passage hit home because conditions in my life have changed, and I need to attend to those needs rather than trying to push past my limits. That’s meant taking a long walk every afternoon and letting go of routines like doing all the dishes before bed.

It also means that I’m going to pause on publishing this newsletter for a bit. I will be back in your inbox in April with more updates. 

In the meantime, you can find job postings and other opportunities in Transom’s All Hear, and in Adrian Ma’s ever useful Google Doc. And as always, Transom is a goldmine of interviews and resources. 

And hey, here are some of the gardening books I’m loving right now: 

Climate Change Gardening for the South, by Barbara J. Sullivan

Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask: Anishinaabe Botanical Teachings, by Mary Siisip Geniusz

Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden by Camille T. Dungy

The Complete Gardener, by Monty Don

Botany for Gardeners, by Brian Capon

TTYL,

Alice