Let It Grow
I’ll admit it—I have a black thumb. I can’t keep succulents alive. I can’t keep grocery store basil alive. When my husband and I bought our first house, I asked my coworkers what kind of landscaping I should plant outside, reminding them that it might not survive my hands. One coworker told me to get a hydrangea, because one time her grandmother tried to kill one by pouring an entire gallon of bleach on it, yet it lived on. That’s my kind of plant. (I did plant a hydrangea, and it was still alive and kicking when we moved out of that house three years later.)
This month’s edition is a tribute to those who can grow things. We talked to three of the many female farmers here in the Lehigh Valley, and you can read their stories of what it’s like working in that field (pun intended) on pg. 50. And to bring some of the outside indoors, turn to pg. 42 to learn from several local plant experts how to choose and care for houseplants. Latina advocate and creator Edith Gutierrez-Hawbaker talks about cultivating her community through her art on pg. 34, and therapist Leah Cofield explains how counseling is a lot like pulling weeds on pg. 31. If you just want to enjoy nature instead of trying to keep it alive, we’ve got you covered—five excellent spring walks and hikes are waiting for you on pg. 38, plus more in this edition.
Don’t forget to fertilize,
Angela Vennemann
Editor
