WHERE EACH LEAF IS A MAP OF ITS STORY

The Hermit’s Grove grew out of something I’ve carried with me for most of my life: a love for growing things, creating with my hands, and finding a little grounding in the middle of everything else. What started as a personal journey with plants is now becoming a family project: a place to share propagations, stories, lessons learned, and whatever else takes root along the way.

Ahhh, where to begin? My whole life, I’ve felt most in my element when caring for things and creating something with my hands. Plants first became part of my life when I was maybe 10 or 11. I remember being fascinated by my family’s gardens—planting something in the spring, nurturing it through the summer, and watching it become a harvest that could be canned, frozen, and carried through until the next year. Of course, my role in all of that was mostly weeding, which seemed like the necessary evil perfectly assigned to children. Later, when my mom went to work, I helped maintain her flower beds through the summer. Again, I was amazed by the process. These little plugs went into the ground, and over time, they thrived and transformed the space around them.

Houseplants were always around, too, but they felt like an extra thing I didn’t pay much attention to until I moved out on my own and my grandma gave me one. I believe it was a Syngonium because I remember her telling me that if I just let it see the light and climb, it would grow. This was the late nineties, before moss poles or anything like that were common. She meant it would naturally attach to things around it, even though she tried to keep it from doing that. And then I killed it. I mean, really killed it. I thought it was a plant, so it needed water, and water it got: lots of water. I was basing that on helping with my mom’s outdoor annuals, which loved water on hot summer days. I drowned the poor thing. Failure was never something I handled well, so when I was later offered a seedling basket, I was determined to understand the plants, watch their needs, and help them live. And I did. My dining room had lots of windows and became my little plant room. The plants brought me so much joy. I did not realize it at the time, but they were giving me the grounding energy I needed in between the usual young-person craziness. My grove had begun.

Of course, to everything there is a season, and that season came to an end when I moved into an old house during the winter and a kitchen door was left open, killing them all. It annoyed me so much, and since it was not a failure on my end, I just let the plant world go for a while. Plus, I started having kids. I was busy adulting. Fast forward about 20 years, and I was a single dad with kids who had reached the age where they did not need my full attention anymore. Then Covid hit, and a darker season settled in. Working from home and feeling the identity I had built over 20 years start to fade, I needed grounding. I needed to reconnect with myself. Among other things, that started with a plant: a clearance, half-dead-looking plant from Lowe’s that I picked up with a friend. Maybe it reminded me of where I was at the time. But it came back. It lived. It sent me to YouTube searching plant care, and it opened me up to something I still do not quite know how to fully explain. But it was exactly what I needed. As I cared for my growing collection, tried new techniques, and found myself reconnecting with who I was, I rediscovered part of myself. I am not saying plants changed my life single-handedly, but they became part of a journey of self-discovery that is still unfolding. It is a journey I hope to share here and one that has also resulted in plenty of props. That part will not be stopping.

So, if you are still reading this, congratulations. This is where this family affair meets the internet. I have wanted a place for a while where I could share my passions, find homes for my plant propagations, and make room for whatever else grows from here. My daughter is just starting to become part of this little adventure, and I am excited to see what The Hermit’s Grove becomes with both of us adding to it. For now, look around, follow along, and know that I have great dreams for what this could become.