Grow Create Joy
Fascinated, enchanted and restored by the natural world
Handfuls of sweet peas for Great Uncle Bill
July brought handful after handful of sweet peas. A handful is the number of times I ever met my Great Uncle Bill. A handful is the number of garden tools of his that I now own. Even though in...
GCJ Book Club – The Garden Cure
The Grow Create Joy book club is back and I'm picking up from where I left off with The Garden Cure by Jan Cameron. The Garden Cure is a guide to cultivating wellness, for ones self or for others,...
Chamomile, before the tea
Once you invite chamomile in, it becomes a faithful friend. Returning year after year, at first almost undetected as their tiny seeds nestle between the soil particles and the little plants...
GCJ Book Club – Unearthed by Claire Ratinon
The timing of reading Unearthed by Claire Ratinon was significant for me and I will explain why later. It strongly articulates why representation in nature writing is so important. Claire did this...
The chameleon and the crown
Goodbye to October, the chameleon and the crown of the season. A month when we can nostalgically forget the dark, rainy days and delight in the life-giving glow of decay. It’s no coincidence that...
How my garden holds me
The motif of this summer was intense heat and more intense work schedules. A garden participant said to me in one session “how lucky you are to work in this calming garden”. I agree, I am. When I am...
About Grow Create Joy
Nature is full of surprises, both joyful and terrifying. It feels like home, wherever we are. It makes life meaningful where material things fail.
The natural world helps us to make sense of a nonsensical world and inspires us to tell stories about its lessons.
It connects humans to each other and brings calm, joy, love, nourishment and creativity. And all the time it takes us on personal journeys and gives us insight into others’ lives.
Nature is the answer to so many questions.
