This week’s post is inspired by our speaker, Ettie Wahl, who challenged everyone to take time this week to find something in nature that inspires or sparks our imagination. It’s been a very busy week of design for me (probably everyone!), so it’s been a bit hard to find extra time, but luckily, some inspiring nature appeared in my mailbox, literally! I love to garden and to experiment with colorful foods, so when my favorite seed company had a last-minute sale, I had to indulge, and I bought two blue turmeric plants! They arrived, and they’re super cute!
Here is what blue turmeric is going to look like once it grows big, at least according to the plant catalog:
And look what else I found in my garden that I’m excited about!
So, what do these moments in nature say about me? I’m really into my garden, I suppose! When I was little, my grandpa and his garden were an important part of my life, and now growing a garden still makes me happy. Flowers are fun, but I especially love to grow foods. It’s rewarding to see the plants grow, and harvesting makes me feel like an urban homesteader, like I’m somehow more of a provider for my family. Even before the harvest, working in the garden is such a great way to clear space in my mind and feel more of a connection to the earth around me. When I can spend time in the garden that way, I feel healthier and more grounded and connected, and I think of so many great ideas while I’m working. I think it’s really good for my mental health and my creative process to spend time working with something that has materiality and life that way. I also especially love and connect with colors, the greens of new growing things are especially luscious, and excitingly-colored fruits and vegetables are a favorite of mine for experimenting with cooking and baking. I love making things with beets because they turn pink! Spirulina is great for green and blue, and butterfly pea flower tea is another fun blue. Purple carrots are a favorite of my kids, and I’ve also tried purple tomatoes and purple sweet potato waffles are super fun. Turmeric is usually great for yellow, but I’m excited to find out what it will be like to try out the blue kind!