It’s a podcast.

Before you start to roll your eyes and click to the next post, I want you to pause for a moment.

I’ve been struggling the past few years with my brand. The Gardener on the Go. I garden. A lot. But I don’t really go places, at least not like a travel blogger. Instead, I tend to stay mostly within my community. So “on the go” seemed like a bit of a misnomer.

But I started thinking. What if I took the “gardener” part a little less literally?

I mean, we all grow things. Gardens. Businesses. Families. Communities. Ideas. Organizations. Creative practices. Relationships.

And that seemed to fit me more. I want to talk about gardening, of course. But I also want to talk about building communities. Nonprofit work. Arts and culture. Getting ready to attend a play. Figuring out how to show up at a gala when you have no idea what you’re doing. Playing D&D with my oldest son.

And maybe that’s what I’ve been trying to figure out for myself over the past few years: what am I growing?

I’ve grown gardens. I’ve grown businesses. I’ve grown communities. I’ve grown children. I’ve grown ideas that went somewhere and ideas that didn’t.

I’ve started things, abandoned things, returned to things, and changed my mind more times than I can count.

I don’t think I’m the only person who feels this way.

There are so many of us out here who are trying to build interesting lives without necessarily having a five-year plan for every part of them. We’re learning as we go. We’re trying new things. We’re showing up to events where we don’t know anyone. We’re figuring out how to support causes we care about. We’re making things. We’re growing things.

And that’s what I want to explore here.

What Are You Growing? is going to be a podcast and newsletter about the people, ideas, and communities cultivating something meaningful.

I’ll talk with nonprofit founders, artists, community builders, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and all kinds of other interesting people about what they’re building - and what they’ve learned along the way.

I’ll also be figuring some things out right here with you.

How do you go to your first gala when you don’t know what to expect? How do you support a nonprofit when you can’t afford to make a huge donation? How do you get involved in your community? How do you find more art, culture, and interesting people in your own backyard?

And maybe most importantly: how do you build a life that feels a little more interesting?

I don’t have all the answers.

But I’m looking forward to sharing what I do know, what I do uncover, with you all. Maybe, together, we can turn this into something cool.

Make sure you subscribe to this Substack. Follow me on Instagram. TikTok.

And keep an eye out for when the first episode goes live.

So, what are you growing?

Subscribe now

Share