{"id":832,"date":"2024-03-23T10:32:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-23T10:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quietdownthere.co.uk\/?p=832"},"modified":"2024-03-24T20:31:20","modified_gmt":"2024-03-24T20:31:20","slug":"how-i-became-an-urban-dryad-by-robin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quietdownthere.co.uk\/how-i-became-an-urban-dryad-by-robin\/","title":{"rendered":"How I became an Urban Dryad by Robin"},"content":{"rendered":"
Something I love about Harriett’s Press is the invitation to slow down. While your laundry is getting done, you stop and breathe: sit, drink tea, talk, become absorbed in creating something small. At the macro level, it’s a challenge to ideas about where creativity belongs, and who it belongs to. But at the personal level, it’s an oasis in a frantic day of errands, therapeutic and meditative.<\/span><\/p>\n Caring for plants can also be an invitation to slow down: to become absorbed in tending to another living thing; to think about the light and air quality in your home; to be patient and purposeful, because growth isn’t always linear, and after months of dormancy you’ll find that something is suddenly flourishing. Plants are beautiful, connect us to nature, and science agrees that they <\/span>improve both mental and physical health<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n If you visit Harriett’s Press, you might have noticed (among the pens and origami and embroidery) the spider plants, and the little stack of ‘Urban Dryad’ cards next to them. Those are from me! Hello! My name is Robin, I love plants, and I love helping people find joy in plants. In this post I’d like to focus on how I started this, what I’m doing at a community level, and what I’m planning for the future.<\/span><\/p>\n This time last year, I decided to contribute to a charity auction – and inadvertently started my journey as Urban Dryad. My friend Mike’s yearly <\/span>Auction of Promises<\/span><\/a> has listings like “I will knit you a custom scarf” and “I will make a fancy cooked breakfast for you and your friends”, as well as non-physical things like career advice and spreadsheet building. I tentatively offered “I will help you with your houseplants”, adding a picture showing my own plants, and a list of things I could help with: finding (and maybe providing) the right plants for your space, diagnosing problems, or advising on bigger projects like greenhouse cabinets and terrariums.<\/span><\/p>\n