Welcome

So is this really going to be a gardening blog? I'm not sure yet. An interest in plants and gardening is a thread that runs through my whole life, though. It is that time of year when I'm going through my seeds and making plans for the spring.

Stained glass made by Isabelle of https://belleanncreations.ca/. She made it for me after I gifted her with the glass in my basement that had been there for decades from one of my parents' friends. I had always wanted to try the craft, but never got around to it, and it was taking up space. I really loved this piece she created from the sketch she found in the boxes of glass. I just love the colour selection. Sadly, it fell one autumn day and cracked on the windowsill. I cried; it poured out of me. I overreacted. I wasn't just crying for cracked glass...I was crying for the loss of a dream, potentials unfulfilled, and the decline of my mother, the limits of time and space we all have to cope with. I bought some glass glue and tried to patch it up. It is still beautiful even if it's a little broken -- Like all of us.

Does the world need another gardening blog? I'm not sure yet.

I first built myself a website to share my art portfolio in 2002. It was exhilarating to be able to share my art with my friends, my family, and really...the entire world. When new social media sites and blogging platforms started up, there was that feeling again for a few years.

It's not the same anymore. I don't want to share anymore. Not like I did.

It started before AI, I was trying to understand the algorithms to share work and events on social media, trying to figure out how to be found in searches. Such a game. I even took courses, an entire certificate on digital media marketing, to try to learn how to do this better. Then, when I heard that AI was basically feeding off of all the art and writing on the internet, you know, I really shut down my sharing. It's one thing when a person steals from you for their own profit, but another when rich corporations with machines do it. You know? I didn't want to post anymore, barely engage, I still consumed content, but... I went back to mostly writing in journals and sending emails and letters.

It didn't matter for a while, then my mother died. Beyond close family and friends, the only way to really let anyone else know was through social media, and it really felt gross. Giving evil corporations engagement through my mother's obituary. But no one reads the same local newspapers anymore.

Recently, I got a letter from a friend, and it made me think I really do need to share more with others, my thoughts, my doings, my creations, my successes, my mistakes, my stories...not pushing out content...just a slow sharing of life and discoveries. So I’m going to try this ghost publishing platform for blogging and emails and see what comes of it. It seems to give authors more control of their own content. Please subscribe and write comments. I want to make this a safe, genuine, and welcoming space.

So is this really going to be a gardening blog? I'm not sure yet. An interest in plants and gardening is a thread that runs through my whole life, though. It is that time of year when I'm going through my seeds and making plans for the spring. This will be my 15th year coordinating the Southwood Community Garden. We will have a seed swap next week. I'm interested to see where it goes. At this point, I want to focus more on plants, the fruit trees and the seed saving, build my skills there. I'd like to pass off the event coordination and fundraising.

Welcome to my blog, and thanks for being here. Like a garden, I'm just planting seeds, and we will see what grows from it.