Thinking in Soil explores the reflective side of gardening. It looks beneath the surface at the structures, systems, and connections that shape how things grow. These essays trace the parallels between tending a garden and tending an idea, following how attention, time, and care create understanding.
The Season Starts with Memory I grew up in Skagit Valley, home to one of the most well-known tulip festivals in the country. The festival has grown significantly over the years, drawing such large crowds that traffic has become a major challenge. But once you get there, the miles of gorgeous blooms nestled in the […]
Fall Bulb Planting: Practical Tips, Squirrel Deterrents, and a Spring Payoff Read More »
Somewhere along the way, “evergreen” became shorthand for “pine tree.” Maybe a fir if you are feeling fancy. The word itself has become seasonal, tied to winter rituals and the impulse to bring something living indoors while the rest of the world goes still. Yet in the garden, the meaning of evergreen is something else
What We Mean When We Say Evergreen Read More »
A Bag of Seeds and a Memory I was out in the garden in late fall, holding a handful of poppy seeds from my mother-in-law, Linda. Not a seed packet, but a Ziploc bag full of seeds I had collected from the brittle, dried poppy heads once plucked from the bold, oversized blooms in her
What the Seed Knows – Fall Sowing Reflection Read More »
Bare Soil Is an Invitation Bare soil is an invitation. That was one of the first things I learned when I began gardening. If you do not decide what grows there, something else will, usually something stubborn and opportunistic. In my case lately, that has been burdock. When I moved back to this area after
Living Mulch and Weed Suppressors: Covering Ground the Smart Way Read More »
I signed up for a community garden plot with the idea that it would be quiet. I pictured myself slipping in with my tools, putting my earbuds in, and tending the soil without needing to say a word to anyone. Gardening has always been a place where I can work things out in my head,
A Season in the Community Garden Read More »