I moved to Brooklyn in 2010 and it wasn’t long before I found the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and fell in love. To live so close to such a beautiful green space with so many plant and tree friends was a balm. It was, however, years, before I knew that they had a library.
The first time I walked into the space, I gasped with awe. This library is the kind in which I’ve always wanted to spend time. A place of beauty with its curved architecture and shelves teeming with plant-related materials. Even the doorway before entering is a sight to behold. It feels magical.
It’s an honor that Dreaming with the Plants is now included in the collection of this esteemed and unique library. BBG makes an appearance in the book as well as I write about my experience with the dear Oak by the Shakespeare garden in Oak’s chapter. Here’s an excerpt:
“After those childhood days of talking and playing with the trees were over and I moved away from being in nature in every possible way, (first going to school, then work, then moving to New York City) I still loved Oak. During this time, I separated within myself. I separated from others. I forgot how to connect. It is no surprise, although I didn’t realize it at the time, that when I started a path of healing and reclaiming myself and my health, I often took a blanket to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden along with a book and stretched out under a tall Oak tree. This is where I rested and read the Bhagavad Gita, returning several times to complete it, and to soak in both the words of this ancient text and the energy of Oak. Later, I discovered that I wasn’t supposed to lay on the grass in this part of the garden. No one ever disturbed me or told me to move. Oak held me there in a cloak of protection so that I could begin my journey of reconnection with myself, the land, and with the spirit of Oak who was present even when I felt like she wasn’t there anymore.”
When I met with the head librarian, Hilary, she had excellent questions about what Dreaming with the Plants entails. Through speaking with her, I realized something I haven’t yet articulated about the book to others though it was very present when I spent years conceiving the book and what it needed to be.
Dreaming with the Plants is designed with the intention to invite readers to develop their intuition and choose their own adventure. It is not an encyclopedia of plants or facts about them. The organizing principle is to encourage readers to step off a path that has been defined by others and instead to create one of your own intuition. To move out of the rational, linear, logical mindset and into other ways of being. To explore with the plants as you see fit. Yes, there is guidance within the pages, but it is not meant to be an authoritative how-to. Instead the guidance is there to provide options and invite readers to invent their own ways of connecting with the plant world as well.
If you are in Brooklyn, I hope you will go and check out this special place and their collections. For more information about the Brooklyn Botanic Garden library click here.
