About Cristen

I've been tending to gardens for more than 15 years and I can confidently say that I'll always be a gardener. I love transforming blank spaces into diverse, everchanging palettes of wild and cultivated plants. I love observing in awe as all the wildlife comes flooding in. And I love picking big juicy heirloom tomatoes fresh off the vine, carrying overflowing baskets of rose petals, chamomile, and curry leaves, and creating homegrown herbal remedies for our community. It's a special kind of magic, and a joyful way of life that I want to share with others. 

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I've never lost my childlike curiosity, and if I'm not out getting dirty in the garden, I can often be found going down a research rabbit hole or crawling around on the ground taking pictures of cool-looking bugs.  

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I'm an advocate of humane garden practices. I think every creature deserves to make a life here, and we all must show respect. Instead of working to target and eradicate plants and animals that are unwanted, we can aim to create a balanced ecosystem rich in biodiversity. And in doing this, we'll have a much more resilient landscape that holds up better to things like pests, diseases, and drought.

I believe in the power of manifestation. We can dreamscape the world we want to live in and start making small steps toward that goal every day. We can mindfully observe the space around us before making major changes. We can start small, experiment, see what happens, and make tweaks along the way. And we can recognize that failures are welcomed too because progress isn't linear. No good adventure ever is.