Seedtime and Harvest by Christie Purifoy
As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast:
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:
Seedtime and Harvest by Christie Purifoy
This book came out on March 5, 2024, and the subtitle is How Gardens Grow Roots, Connection, Wholeness, and Hope.
As someone who celebrates the intersection of gardens and storytelling, I was particularly moved by Christie's exploration of how gardens shape our sense of place and belonging.
Her lyrical essays weave together practical gardening wisdom with profound insights about connection and hope.
The book is thoughtfully organized into four main sections: Gardens Grow Roots, Gardens Grow Connection, Gardens Grow Wholeness, and Gardens Grow Hope. Each section combines practical gardening advice with deeper reflections on how gardens nurture our spirits and communities.
The book opens with a powerful reflection on rootedness:
I sometimes think I was born rootless...
At its core, gardening is not about the roses or dahlias or tomatoes we might grow. At its core, gardening is an intimate, ongoing relationship with a place. And it is this relationship that roots us as firmly as a tree is rooted in the ground.
Particularly fitting for today's Halloween episode is Christie's enchanting chapter "The Ghost in My Garden," where she shares the story of discovering a previous gardener's legacy through an inherited rose bush and its heavenly perfume. This chapter beautifully captures how gardens connect us across time, preserving memories and stories that might otherwise be lost.
What makes this book special is how it balances practical gardening knowledge with spiritual
insight. You'll find specific guidance on topics like:
• Creating butterfly gardens and wildlife habitats
• Growing heirloom roses and shade plants
• Developing tea gardens and edible landscapes
• Managing vines and ground covers
• Planning year-round bulb displays
But alongside these practical tips, Christie weaves in deeper reflections about:
• Finding belonging in a new place
• Building community through shared gardens
• Healing through connection with nature
• Nurturing hope in times of environmental change
• Creating a legacy through thoughtful planting
Christie's perspective on gardens as agents of reconciliation is especially powerful:
Gardens grow much more than plants: gardens grow life. Gardens grow thriving connections among fungi and insects, birds and animals, people and neighborhoods. When we care for a garden, we are caring for our own selves, and we are caring for the entire green and blue jewel that is the garden of planet Earth.
The book concludes with a moving epilogue on "Hope in an Age of Climate Chaos," offering both practical and spiritual guidance for gardeners facing environmental challenges. Christie reminds us that every garden, no matter how small, is part of a larger tapestry of hope and renewal.
This book is 208 pages of gardening wisdom, spiritual insight, and practical guidance for cultivating not just plants, but also deeper connections to place and community.
SI HORTUM IN HORTORIA PODCASTA IN BIBLIOTEHCA HABES, NIHIL DEERIT.
