As the garden season of 2024 winds down and our thoughts turn inward, the end of year holiday season begins. The colors and smells of autumn take full presence, and the abundance of harvest prevails. 

My restoration of native plants continues. Fall plantings included shrubs, American Bayberry and Holly, and perennials, sedges and grasses - Queen of the Prairie, 'Filipendula rubra', 'Carex pennsylvanica', and Prairie Dropseed, 'Sporobulus heterolepis'  to name a few. These species provide both ecosystem support and climate resilience, the ability to survive and thrive in our native soil and changing weather conditions of extreme heat and drought. I honor these hardy plants that insects and birds visit, and I make conscious decisions to never use pesticides or insecticides, supporting our mutual health. We are in this together.  

Teresa Peterson, Dakota gardener and author of Perennial Ceremony: Lessons and Gifts from a Dakota Garden, celebrates the ceremonies of gardening. Teresa is a lover of the land. This includes a recognition of coming from and returning to the Earth and the interconnectedness between species. The Dakota phrase "mitakuye owasin," meaning 'all my relatives', celebrates the insects, animals, birds, soil, as our brothers and sisters on Mother Earth. "When everything is seen through the lens of family member, why would you harm them?" is her philosophy, which greatly resonates with my own.  

With this realization, may we continue to be thankful for clean air and water, and food security. May we make daily decisions that preserve our planet's and other species' well-being.   

Enjoy this season of gratitude with friends and family.