Carrots have one of the longest and richest histories preserved in the journals of agriculture. The earliest carrots date back to the tenth century in Persia and Asia Minor and don’t look anything like the domesticated, orange-rooted carrots we see in cartoons and supermarkets today.

In the language of flowers, floriography, Rudbeckia symbolizes justice. Perhaps because it appears to bloom without prejudice in all types of terrains, or because its flowers, when cut, will last for weeks in water with dignity.

As indicated by its scientific name, Foeniculum vulgare, fennel is not a favorite to other plants and keeping it separate is recommended. Fennel will inhibit the growth of many of our favorite garden varieties. It is also inhibited in the presence of coriander and wormwood, and will not form seed.

Yarrow is utilized for spiritual protection and indicated especially to those who are easily influenced or affected by others. It is a strong ally when one needs to build or solidify boundaries, both physical and emotional.

The French call the sunflower tournesol, evoking the way the plant turns it’s head to bask in the sun. This behavior is called helioptropism; the young flower buds and blossoms will face east in the morning and follow the sun as the earth moves during the day. Because of this, the sunflower is thought to exemplify loyalty or adoration.

The name "pansy" is derived from the French word pensée, or “small thought." In floriography, the language of flowers, the pansy means, “think of me often and pleasantly” …

If you are prone to sunburns you have probably met “The Lily of the Desert,” aloe vera. An evergreen succulent plant species, aloe vera has antibacterial, antiviral, and antiseptic properties. The Egyptians idealized aloe vera and called it “the plant of immortality” because it can live and even bloom without soil

Green biases projected on to plants normalizes hierarchical language we often standardize and use on humans.

“Abolition is about presence, not absence. It’s about building life-affirming institutions.” Dr Ruth Gilmore

Abolition is a commitment to ending cycles of harm. It asks us to redefine safety, justice, and relationship in our intimate and institutional environments.

As prisons are the descendants of slavery, the garden beds are constructed from the ancestral byproducts of sugarcane, cotton, and tobacco, exposing the illusion that slavery was abolished in the U.S.

What kind of house does a man who has lived in a six-foot-by-nine-foot-cell for over 40-years dream of?!