All my products are created using plants grown in my home garden and in the surrounding woods and fields of Northern California. I grow, prepare, package and ship everything by hand, myself. As a transplanted Midwesterner, the climate and geography of my adopted home in Northern California is still fascinating and surprising to me after almost 25 years here. The white shower of almond blossoms in
the orchards amazes me every February, and there is nothing- nothing!- like that first fall rain that you've waited all through a long, hot, dusty summer for. I'm equally intrigued by the textures, the smells, the colors, and the tastes of the Sierra Nevada foothills, and the bounty that my garden generously produces (no matter how distracted I get). There's just so much to appreciate in the pageant of the changing seasons. Because I've always got my hands full with at least 50 projects at a time, I favor plants that don't take much fussing. The seeds and bulbs I offer are generally from happy, casual, cottage-garden types that enjoy a little neglect- I prefer to think of it as allowing them a bit of privacy to do their own thing. ;) Many will self-seed given half a chance, providing the serendipitous joy of finding new flowers that have planted themselves next year, with zero additional work. Perennials are another big favorite of mine, and it's so much cheaper to start them from seed than to buy a potted start, as long as you have the patience (or other projects to keep you occupied) while they grow out to maturity. Of course, if you personally prefer things a bit tidier, or just enjoy caring for your plants, they will all reward you for your attention, so feel free to clip, trim, and arrange to your heart's content! I'm especially drawn to texture and the fine details of natural materials that you only notice when you slow down and look up close. Many of the artworks I'm inspired to create come from just such a moment, when I've been clipping a spent seedhead or hearing an acorn drop from a tree, and stopped my usual whirlwind of activity to really appreciate the mystery of the natural cycles right in front of me. I find these tiny glimpses of intimate natural beauty to be nourishing and supporting, physically, mentally, and spiritually, and my fondest hope is to share them, and the feelings they inspire in me, with others through my products. I hope you will be inspired to plant, and create, and nurture and be nurtured by what you find here. All of the seeds, bulbs, dried plants, and other natural materials I offer are grown or collected by me, right here, or given to me by my near neighbors and friends. (Yes, I'm *that* person who, seeing a downed branch with pretty bark, or a tree dropping its fruit in a friend's yard, will say, "Um, are you gonna use that?") I don't use any non-organic inputs, like chemical fertilizers or insecticides, in my garden, and I avoid collecting foraged materials anywhere I suspect that pesticides or roadside exhaust, for example, may have contaminated them. I'm not anything-certified; my micro-growing scale won't ever justify that expense and paperwork- but I can tell you that everything I offer in my shop is exactly what I use myself and would share with my own family, and remains as close to nature as possible.
