Inspiring Horticulturist & Author Abra Lee, Shares Garden History Discoveries from "Conquer The Soil"

I was smitten with Abra Lee and her groundbreaking work the moment I was introduced to her. (Pun intended.)

See, Abra Lee is a horticulturist; a gardener.
Lee is also a refreshing, revolutionary kind of garden historian, speaker, and author of the soon-to-be-released book Conquer the Soil that, according to Timber Press, her publisher, “profiles 45 hidden figures of horticulture—the Black men and women whose accomplished careers in the plant world are little known or untold.”

If you’re like me, there’s nothing better than “digging in;” satiating one’s curiosity.

I love to learn and to be inspired.

Abra Lee checked all the boxes. I couldn’t wait to soak up more. A garden adventure awaited…

A Bee-utiful Spring Table Design: Home Entertaining Pays Homage to the Garden & Pollinators

 

I love the happy colors of spring; they just seem to tickle us in yellow sunshine after a dark winter. 
I believe the art of home entertaining and distinctive tablescapes are more than just “pretty.” They tell a story…

For this special tablescape design, I wanted to keep the yellow color theme, plus incorporate an environmental message to honor one of our most beloved pollinators: the bee. 

Here’s how I designed the happy, layered look. 

Our Trees are Stars of Film, Poetry, & Books: Arbor Day Tree Tips to Grow Inspiring Native Trees at Your Home

 

Hands down, my favorite tree as a main character in the Avatar film is The Tree of Souls, the giant willow tree that is the Mother tree, that is the sacred soul ~ the connection to spiritual and guiding forces. 

There were also those magical floating trees. Ahhhh… 

It was pure heaven for me. And seeing it in 3-D is about as magical as it gets for a tree and nature lover like me. 

Ents are trees in Lord of the Rings. Their leader is Treebeard of Fangorn forest. They are similar to the talking trees in folklore around the world. 

In researching my homage to trees for Arbor Day this year, I learned more about The White Tree of Gondor that stood as a symbol of Gondor in the Court of the Fountain in Minas Tirith. 

There are the apple trees in The Wizard of Oz, the Whomping Willow Tree in Harry Potter and the Tree of Life in The Lion King. 

Why do trees so often inspire not only filmmakers but poets, fine artists, musicians and well, all of us? 

What You Can Do For Earth Day to "Invest in Our Planet" and Our Healthy Future

 

When one is a gardener and landscape designer, as well as a passionate naturalist, everyday is Earth Day. However, marking the day April 22 as the official Earth Day, says as much about the collective, global observance as it does on an individual who is keen to “observe the interconnected relationships between plants, birds, trees & ecology so we can understand the past, present & future of our local and global environments,” as described in Nature Mentoring.

I have been following the Earth Day organization and its efforts from its early days; not long after they launched in 1970. At that time, the effort was an answer to what was termed a “Crisis of Survival.” Reportedly, ten percent of the US population marched to demonstrate the impact of industrial development!  

I thought the effort was an, ahem, natural evolution. Meaning that once folks learned how bad pollutants and environmental destruction was, the solution would be within reach.  After all, who wanted to eat contaminated food or breathe bad air or swim in fouled, poisoned waters.  We were smarter and, collectively, we’d solve this crisis. 

And yet, here we are, 52 years later. Do you think we are better off or has the crisis deepened?

This year, the global organizer announced that the theme for Earth Day 2022’s celebration is “Invest in Our Planet.”  

But what does that mean?