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We Grow More Than Collards…

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I love collards, kale, and a mixture of both. In the pot with some chicken or vegetable broth – that is simply good eating tome. However, as an African-American woman, garden writer, and spender of ridiculous amounts of money on all things horticultural, I am having a hard time finding a representation of me amidst the perennials and annuals. What’s up with that?

So I thought I would share an article I wrote on Medium.

View at Medium.com

Enjoy and add some candied sweets (yams) on my plate with those collards!!

It’s a rainy evening at the Cottage In The Court – Teri

View at Medium.com

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Diversity In Horticulture – Where Are We?

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My first Garden Writers Conference and as a newbie, I felt quite at home with like-minded people. Yet Diversity did not show up…..

Diversity is important to me in all that I do. Just like in my garden, I seek diversity in opportunities offered in life that interest me. Unfortunately, diversity does not always follow. While I am aware that I am not the ONLY person of color that is interested in horticulture, I am curious as to why I keep seeing me at the table? There has to be a reason why there are very few minority groups represented? I yearn to learn more about the history and effect of minorities in horticulture. I don’t think I am the only one.

Participating in a Garden Writers Regional Meeting in Maryland. It was a great day and a wonderful opportunity!

Elementary school taught us a few facts about the Settlers and the relationship with the Native Indians. After a substantial number of deaths of English Settlers in the “New World”, Captain John Smith had an idea.  Captain Smith thought it prudent to communicate with the Native Indians to survive. The Native Indians taught him many things about the readily available food grown natively. This helped the English Settlers survive in this new land.

In Virginia, the Powhatan Indians helped the Settlers survive by teaching them how to farm. The Settlers figured out they needed more hands to survive after killing or relocating the Native Indians. The use of slave labor and indentured servants allowed the Settlers another chance at survival. The diversity amongst these people creates the fabric of horticulture as we know it.

To be transplanted and have to start life in unfamiliar surroundings must have been surreal and unimaginable. Consider being hungry and not know what is edible or not? Imagine toiling in soil that was not your own native soil and plants that were different? The expectation to decipher what was or was not edible, how to clear and plant with no tools or minimally how to survive daily? This must have been quite difficult as well as a daunting challenge. The creative mind had to make the best of it, as a return ticket to home was not going to happen.

According to Agricultural astrology, planting by the Moon’s phases is a successful practice. It becomes quite evident when you look at the growth of things planted during this time. As far as we know, this practice started in the Nile and Euphrates river regions. Diversity has helped with things like using plants and roots common to the United States for food and also as a medicine. Therefore, one cannot ignore the presence of diversity in creating tools from scratch, as well as methods and use of plantings.

Many groups have different methods and logic behind how they grow, whether it is food or for beauty. Why not share? To be perfectly honest, the statistics show although the demographic of landscape employees is predominantly Hispanic. Yet, I do not see a large number of Hispanic or other Minorities as I attend events relating to horticulture. The number of African-American and Asian contributions to this industry isn’t even widely reported. This saddens me.

As I delve deeper into the wonderful world of garden writing, I would love to see and read more about gardening, as well as nature, from a diverse audience. Diversity is a placeholder in the greenhouse of horticultural education. Horticulture is a greenhouse that is constantly growing seedlings for the future. These greenhouse sown seedlings are always ready to be transplanted to horticulturists of all ethnicities. There are rootings of opportunity that grow in this greenhouse from cuttings of the past. These rootings are available to all those wanting to grow in horticulture, whether for personal or career-related benefits.  There are opportunities curated specifically for minorities that often remain untouched. Why are we not coming to the table? I am certain that there is a diverse audience that has something to share.

Sharing a moment with Mr. Pearl Fryar, a self-taught topiary genius that is known around the world.

There are several new books that speak to embracing the diversity in what we grow. Wendy Kiang-Spray has written an awesome book called “The Chinese Kitchen Garden – Growing Techniques and Family Recipes From A Classic Cuisine”. Wendy shares the trials and joy of learning how to cook traditional Chinese dishes and shares some of her family histories as well.

Michael Twitty, food historian, speaker, and author of “The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African-American Culinary History in the Old South” shares quite a bit in his own words as well.  Slavery was not good nor was it glamorous. It did, however, change the culinary history of the South. As an African-American, I am quite proud of this fact. No matter what ethnicity you are, I am certain that there are horticultural practices to be proud of.

Therefore, whether young or old, diversity can open up a new world of opportunity and discovery.  As I attend conferences, join committees and take my seat at the table – I only see me. Where are we? Why not share your horticultural family stories? Write about your journey into the wonderful world of gardening. We have quite a bit to be proud of.

I know we are out there – where are we?

Teri, Cottage In The Court

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Multicultural Voices In Horticulture

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Multicultural, multigenerational volunteers attending to the Martin Luther King statue on our National Mall.

Where is the multicultural voice in the wonderful world of gardening? Who wants to share a cultural story of how or why they garden? Where are the multicultural voices of those who still practice what was taught by the Elders? Where are the voices that are familiar and want to communicate on why the yards down South were swept or know when the right time to pick the perfect sized squash? Where are the multicultural voices that share the horticultural experience, sometimes from a different perspective? Where is the space in which we can share how to prepare, cook and enhance foods that are familiar to us, but perhaps in a healthier manner? As much diversity in the communities that we exist in, why are we not present and sharing?

District Height’s Fiesta Garden on Earth Day. Ms. Deborah Turner is making a difference in this community.

As an active member of the horticultural community, I have noticed that we are MIA.  We are not coming to the table and being served, like everyone else.  I wonder why, where are we and why are we not seeking a platform where we can share. If we do not show up, opportunities that provide networking, collaboration and growth are unknown to us. Not showing up also leaves us trailing behind in new innovations, products, practices, plant material and more.

Welcoming Spring….

Let’s look at what is happening with the importance of safe, clean water and a healthy environment Without clean water, we will have health issues like never before and we need the water to feed the crops that provide food for us to eat.  If we do not ask the questions, share problems that we encounter with the climate changes – which affects our gardens –  we suffer. Why are we not sharing the beauty of gardening in a multicultural setting???

One of the groups I am a member of is called – GWA – The Association for Garden Writers and Communicators.  The benefits of being in fellowship with this Association are numerous. Many of the members are leaders in the horticultural community, authors, speakers, garden bloggers or communicate to the masses about gardening. There are teachers, professors,  nurserymen (and ladies), and many others who have their hands in the soil.  There are regional opportunities to connect with other GWA Members which provide fertile opportunities to cultivate friendships that have lasted for many, many years.

Each year there is a conference in a different art of the country – so there is also the opportunity to travel, learn, see public gardens and private gardens. These are presentations by well-known industry leaders, as well as opportunities for exposure to places we might not be familiar with. Why are we not participating in groups that embrace the voice of many different types of people?

Sharing a personal moment with Mr. Pearl Fryer…a self-taught topiary gardener we need to know. My grandsons were amazed! Exposure is the key to knowledge

To be clear – I am NOT dividing or separating, my goal is to open a door or lead others to opportunities that we just might not know about. The only way we will know is to lift our voices to share, empower each other and participate in the global conversation.

If you want to start small, look at Diversity In Green and join the conversation. Please share so we can all benefit from the act of sharing the knowledge.  I welcome the opportunity to connect and share! Feel free to share the Facebook page Diversity In Green, or reach out via email: diversityingreen@gmail.com.

Looking forward to growing and connecting with the multicultural world in which we dwell!!

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A Farmer, an Inventor and Two Patents

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Around 1807 in Glen Ross, Maryland, a young African-American was born by the name of Henry Blair. This young man would become a local farmer and have two patents attributed to his existence. Did I mention that he was illiterate and there is no record of him ever being a slave? Let’s think about that for a moment….illiterate – yet unstoppable, when it came to creating things that made farming easier.

This photo is from the UK MANRRS website. A previous photo was misidentified.

Henry Blair is a name that is not frequently shared, probably because there is not a lot known about him.  According to research, he was born around 1804 or 1807. There are little-known facts about his parents, siblings, or anything personal.  This was not uncommon when it came to the African-Americans in those days.   What is known and well documented are his contributions to horticulture despite his color or illiteracy.

Slaves could not have patents approved and records show that Mr. Blair signed his name with an ” x” when registering Patent No. X8447, also known as the corn planter.  Utilizing horses, the corn planter would break the soil, drop in the seed and cover it up. This was important for farmers, as it would essentially save the work of approximately 8 men. Henry was written up in famous magazines as he showcased his invention that made farming more efficient in those days.  Since slavery was winding down and free labor was becoming a thing of the past, Farmers needed all the help they could get to survive.

In 1836 a second patent was registered. After making a few alterations to the corn planter, Henry Blair developed the cotton planter. This second invention had two attributes that were needed at the time – a horse-drawn drill of sorts to plant the cotton and cover it up, as well as agitate the earth, which uprooted surrounding weeds. Existing records tell us that Mr. Blair was the second African-American to hold a United States patent – how wonderful is this?? Not one invention was patented, but two!!!

Of course, there are questions that haunt his inventions, since his patent was disputed by a slave owner. If you were a slave, technically you owned nothing.  Anything and all that you did became the property of the slave owner. The saving grace for Henry is that he was never registered as a slave. To this day, the two patents are still registered to Mr. Henry Blair.  After the Civil War, laws changed that allowed free and enslaved men to patent their inventions….just not women.

Records indicate that Henry Blair died in 1860, illiterate but with two patents to his name.  What a great lesson that reminds us to be consistent and put effort into our work to achieve the goal of success.  Thank you, Henry Blair, for showing us that despite all odds, if we persist in our efforts to achieve the unthinkable, and demonstrate our knowledge, we can succeed.

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Diversity In Horticulture

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It’s February and I am celebrating diversity in horticulture.  Why now? Why this month? Why not always??  This is a question that I often wonder about as well. Diversity in horticulture seems to be the best-kept secret around.  Although, if you are willing to do the research, there is quite a bit of diversity in horticulture that we never hear about.  Growing up the most common name dropped when discussing horticulture and the African-American was our very own George Washington Carver.Seriously – who does not know about George Washington Carver??? There is so much more to this man than the peanut!!!  Born into slavery around 1864, George Washington Carver was encouraged to pursue an education once the slaves were freed, by Moses Carver (former slave master).  Taking advantage of this encouragement, George had to leave his little town in Missouri to further his educational pursuits, since African-Americans were not well received in Diamond, Missouri.

George studied piano and art at Simpson College around 1890 but went on to study at Iowa State as one of the first African-American students on campus.  How proud he must have felt to be welcomed as he continued his educational pursuits earning honorable degrees including a Masters in the field of Pathology and Mycology.  Never forgetting to take a little downtime, George’s artwork was shown at the World’s Fair in 1893. In 1896, George Washington Carver was named Director of the Agriculture Department at Tuskegee University in Alabama.  Mr. Carver was also an advisor to Mahatma Gandhi – what an honor that had to have been.  Their discussions on nutrition and agriculture were very important from a standpoint of how the African-American was regarded in those days. Even President Roosevelt was in conversation with and respected the research of George Washington Carver, as he was highly regarded as an Expert in Agriculture around the world.   Although many others profited off of George’s inventions (He thought his discoveries should be free to help all people), his efforts through dedicated research and discoveries are well-known today….and is it so much more than the peanut!

Why do we seldom hear about how African-Americans have contributed to horticulture? It is not a secret that there are many minorities who have contributed to this awesome field. Had more African-Americans been included into history as we know it, as we were taught in school and more than in the month of February, I feel certain that this would be a field that would be attractive to young people of all colors today.

We are not sharing the knowledge of the minorities who have contributed to the diversity that can be found in horticulture. I will be sharing more about the African-Americans that contributed to horticulture in the days gone by, as well as those currently involved in reconnecting us to the earth.

Do you know of a Minority in Horticulture that needs to have their story told??  I am on a mission to bring back a level of pride as well as diversity to the horticultural arena. Not that it does not exist, but the level of just how involved we are on this earth in a positive way needs to be highlighted outside of just our community.  Greater understanding comes with exposure, outside of our individual silos.  I have curated a Facebook page called Diversity In Green and I am inviting productive conversation and shared stories of how different cultures garden. Whether it be a story about how you garden culturally in your community,  if you grow specific things that culturally you eat, how your ancestors gardened, sharing a story of why you garden, sharing recipes that have been handed down from Big Momma or simple folklore about gardening culturally – join the page and let’s get this conversation started! We need to lift our voices and be proud of how we have contributed to everyday life.

As an African-American woman, I am proud to know that we certainly have made contributions to the horticultural arena and we continue to do so today.

Next – Did you know we had our hand in cotton – more than just picking it too!!

Please connect with us – Diversity In Green/ to share your story.

This is a global story as we are a global community…and I know there are stories to share. What’s your story??

If you would like to be a guest blogger with us contact us –  diversityingreen@gmail.com

Meanwhile, I am going to plant a border of peanuts to fix the nitrogen in my soil and have endless yellow blooms all summer! Thanks, George!!

Til next time,

Teri

 

 

 

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