By Brandy, Openhearted Rebellion

Some people get the winter blues. Not me – I get the summer blues. This time of year just bums me out. I could list all the reasons why, but that’s not what this article is about!

Instead, this year I’m trying something new.

For quite some time I’ve felt a connection with plants and the outdoors. I love taking photos and learning about the benefits of different plants. I feel gratitude toward the land for providing. I could go on and on!

But I’ve been hindered by my severe dread of summer and my previous inability to keep plants alive (seriously, I killed an aloe plant! How is that even possible?)

This had all kept me from taking any shots at growing anything.

That all changed this year when I read a book called Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Among other things, the book inspired me to show some gratitude to the season of summer – even if I’m miserable the whole time. If I fail, then I at least focused a little on something positive about this season I typically despise.

So, I started a “3 Sisters” garden. This consists of corn, beans, and in our case, watermelon (the third is usually squash or pumpkin). This style of garden is based on Iroquois wisdom. In essence, they are all connected, and they all support each other. My variation of this garden is far from perfect; it may not produce at all. But it’s giving me something to look forward to during this season.

The best part is that I’m learning a lot about gardening. I’ve even started more plants!

Fair warning to any serious gardeners: my garden is a mess. I didn’t start with any tilling or weeding – just a pen with which to push my seeds down into the ground as I hoped for the best.

So far, I have four silver queen corn stalks growing (more now since I planted some early sunglow but they’re just babies) and some black bean bushes.

My sugar baby watermelon initially didn’t grow, but I’ve since planted more that have sprouted. I’ve also started some extra plants – probably too late but we’ll see what happens!