When I first thought of the title for this Halloween post, I had fun in mind: white flowers with ghostly or skeletal effects. There are those, like the cotton grass above and the trillium and others below. But the more I thought about white flowers, the more questions I had. How did they become white? […]
Ghosts in the landscape Read More »
What I remember most vividly is how green it was. I was tiny then, close to the green grass, eyes level with the leafy shrubs. Awestruck by the green-dappled blue showing among rustling leaves that seemed as far above me as the sky. The tree trunks were enormous, rough under my little fingers, brown and
A girl in the Garden of Eden Read More »
Laudato si — Praise be! — are the opening words of each of the verses in Saint Francis’s beautiful Canticle to the Sun, and is also the title of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical defining the Catholic Church’s doctrines on the care of the earth. Last year I discovered that September 1 had been chosen as the annual World
Laudato si, repictured Read More »
I took the picture above six years ago this month, standing in a field of sunflowers on Cape Breton Island on the east coast of Canada. It was the first place we went when we started the journey that has taken us to so many wonderful places. I’ve never forgotten the joy of standing in
One big, happy family: the Asteraceae Read More »
That spring began with a small avalanche of ducklings. Nearby in Marin is the Corte Madera Marsh, a remnant of a vast area of marsh, estuary, and mudflats that once formed the margins of San Francisco and San Pablo Bays. For the most part, these wetlands now hold houses, Route 101, schools, hospitals, office buildings,
The invitation came from Susan Friedman, whom I met on a weekend with Joanna Macy, and whose native plant gardens were part of Retaining Paradise. The Work that Reconnects workshop was held at Canticle Farm, an urban farm in Oakland, a rectangular open space created by combining the yards and gardens behind a block of
Treasuring bees, saving the world Read More »
I’d never seen the word bioblitz until I got my first invitation to one. It had instant appeal: join a group of volunteers to survey a specific area, in an effort to catalog every species you find. Being on the ground taking photos of plants and bugs is one of my favorite things to do.
Blessed unrest: the bioblitz Read More »
As a landscape designer, I specialized in native plants. When I first started my business in the 1980s, the workers at a local wholesale nursery called me ‘the weed lady.’ I was always asking for plants that everyone else was pulling out. Even clients attracted by my natural landscaping approach would propose that first ‘we
Retaining paradise: gardening with native plants Read More »
A few years ago, I did something that I’d been putting off for a long time. I joined Joanna Macy and twenty-eight other people for a weekend of the Work that Reconnects. I knew of Joanna as a philosopher of both ecology and Buddhism, full of wisdom and deep practice on both fronts. Over the
The Work that Reconnects: a weekend with Joanna Macy Read More »
I am standing on the rocky ledge that is Ring Mountain on a spring day. Within sight are San Francisco and bustling, built-up Marin County. Houses, cars, people, and roads — all the trappings of “civilization” — are everywhere. And yet, I am surrounded by a staggering variety of life. The plant diversity alone is
Wild abandon: the mystery and glory of plant diversity Read More »