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I am an enthusiastic gardener and plant nerd. You might, therefore, think it strange that winter is one of my favorite seasons. It's the time to pour a hot cup of tea and wander through cheery photos in seed catalogs and my favorite garden books! Their lush pictures annually offer inspiration.
This year, they inspired me to try propagating a native vine called Dutchman’s Pipe, whose small flowers are shaped pleasingly like smoking pipes. Its leaves provide early nourishment for the charmingly-named Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly, with their startling black-blue wings and orange dots! Careful winter planning followed by the appearance of a lush ecosystem in spring: a movement not unlike my work as State Folklorist, where a call for applications seeds a series of traditional arts projects popping up in communities across the state, some months later.
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