Aster waved a little hello I could see that I was the only one who overlooked them. They were COVERED with all kinds of insects - every sort of bee, wasp, butterfly, fly, and gnat. My first thought was, “A COMMUNITY HUB” and the second, “MAMAW, GRANNY PROTECTOR, FEEDER’.

In my career as nature and science educator I've found again and again people will automatically deny themselves a relationship with a bird, plant, etc. even before they give themselves a chance, just because they don't know their name. There is a stigma around nescience, or a lack of knowledge, which produces a lot of feelings of shame in generalized American culture, to the point they will deny themselves curiosity and learning.

Of course, Honeysuckle is an indelible summer magic maker for children and adults alike. If you have been in proximity to Honeysuckle at any point, you have tasted her nectar! I relish in the memories of hunting for the right flower at just the right time and humidity, pinching the green bead at the bottom of the flower at just the right pressure to grab onto the stigma, slowly drawing down the nectar, and then oh so carefully bringing it to my tongue without spilling the precious drop! When was the last time you tasted nectar? How did you feel? What can you do to bring that feeling back?

I believe in listening to tradition - knowing what the ancient Celts were observing and harvesting when the sun was in this part of their cycle is fascinating and inspiring. But to me it’s also important to witness what is happening in the here and now - in a time of a rapidly changing climate, I’m trying to stay grounded in the realities of today.

I was already inclined to reimagine the meaning of what a garden is and should be, but now instead of some amorphous notion of planting for the future, I have born witness to that future promise fulfilled. I’ll keep that… wish?… promise? with me, and with every new seed I plant, in the hopes to bare witness again.

May our hands feed the gut, may our work nourish our intuition, may we reap what we sow.