71. TWENTY-TWENTY
Millions of hectares of fire. Billions of trees, shrubs, insects, burnt. Hundreds of millions of animals, ash. Homes, lives, livelihoods, lost. We’ve fallen, confused and hurt, into a time of fear and grief, anger and loss, heartbreak and change. We have much work to do and it’s not easy to know where to begin, but begin we must. This month we’re exploring what it means to see clearly. We’re reflecting, imagining and exploring with both sadness and joy.
Issue 71.
TWENTY-TWENTY
A Smorgasbord of Beautiful Madness
GardensTake a wander around a collection of wondrous, wild and joyful gardens.
Calling all Citizen Scientists and Dead Tree Detectives
BotanicaDust off your Hamburg hat, dig out your camera and get your notebook ready. There’s a mystery unfolding across Australia, and your help is needed to unravel it.
Seven Billion Burnt Trees
BotanicaA conversation about plants and bushfire with Brett Summerell, Chief Botanist at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.
Breathing Fire
CultureAn essay by Georgina Reid exploring questions of relationship and imagination in the wake of the Australian bushfires.
Stefan Burger is a Cacti Chaser
BotanicaStefan is the real, spiky, deal. We chat with him about his cacti hunting adventures in Chile, weird plant adaptations and more.
Poem: This Here, This Now
CultureA poem by Georgina Reid.
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Highlights
On the Other Side of Loss Lies Love
CultureA personal exploration of the relationship between ecological grief and transformation by Georgina Reid
Ghostly Gardens and Earthly Memories
GardensA tale of ghost gardens and stories from the soil.
Life is Complicated and Mysterious and Dogmatism is Boring
GardensOn making unconstrained, ecologically rich, meaningful and beautiful gardens
Microbial Love: An Earthy Chat With the Land Gardeners
Botanica, HarvestA guide to deep soil appreciation with two of the most fanatical composters we've ever met.
River Garden Diaries: All Prospect, No Refuge
GardensWhat to do with a windy garden?
Life Lessons: Florist Melanie Stapleton
PeopleA chat about life, family and flowers with the founder of Melbourne florist, Cecilia Fox.
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Gardens
Plants are not Objects: A Spiky Photo Essay
GardensA visit to the Huntington Desert Garden and a lesson in non-objectification of plants.
Plant / Life: Jo Ferguson
Gardens, PeopleA visit to a soulful coastal garden on the Mornington Peninsula.
Garden Visit: Ben Shaw’s Permaculture Oasis
GardensVisit a lush and delicious permaculture garden with us!
Fiona Brockhoff’s Sublime Garden Wonderland
Art & Design, GardensKarkalla is one of the great private gardens of Australia.
Essays
From Control to Connection: A New Ethos of Care
For a very long time, humans have equated care with control. But what if true care is more closely related to chaos? What if, in allowing space for chaos, we can more fully care for ourselves and the world around us?Wild: the Healing Relationship Between Nature and Grief
Wild nature, in contrast to the urban landscape, is a place that invites the grieving to grieve. It does not seek to silence a damaged, confused heart or distract it with noise and activityThe Way of the Gardener
I am committed to tending to this world as a gardener. I am committed to cultivating new shoots, new stories, new hopes, new futures. I do this work with dirt under my nails, with curiosity, reverence and respect. And I wonder, is there any better way to be in the world right now than the way of the gardener – aware, engaged and in love?Support The Planthunter
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ARCHIVE
Microbial Love: An Earthy Chat With the Land Gardeners
Botanica, HarvestA guide to deep soil appreciation with two of the most fanatical composters we've ever met.
What Tree Will You Be When You Die?
CultureCreating new life from death with memorial forests.
On the Other Side of Loss Lies Love
CultureA personal exploration of the relationship between ecological grief and transformation by Georgina Reid
Garden Visit: Ben Shaw’s Permaculture Oasis
GardensVisit a lush and delicious permaculture garden with us!
Ghostly Gardens and Earthly Memories
GardensA tale of ghost gardens and stories from the soil.
Dancing with Diversity: Climate-Proofing Nardoo Hills Reserve
BotanicaAn innovative and ambitious approach to restoration ecology at Nardoo Hills Bush Heritage reserve
Healing Women, Healing the Earth: An interview with Jane Hardwicke Collings
CultureFreya Latona chats with women's mysteries teacher and founder of the school of sharmanic womencraft, Jane Hardwicke-Collings.
Plants are not Objects: A Spiky Photo Essay
GardensA visit to the Huntington Desert Garden and a lesson in non-objectification of plants.
Super Bloom: New Floral Frontiers in Public Planting Design
GardensWhat does it take to make engaging, dynamic and loved public spaces?