All You Need is a Windowsill
For Harmony Designs' first issue of our digital magazine, we spoke with renaissance woman and herbalist Arvolyn Hill about her love of plants, living in harmony, and accessible ways to expand our connection to plants and the Earth.
Harmony Designs: How would you describe yourself and what you do?
Arvolyn Hill: I describe myself first and foremost as an educator. Whether through my work with youth at the Botanical Gardens doing their family programming or my studies as an herbalist, I try to teach and share as much as I can around what I know. I feel passionate about working with plants and the environment. I also dee-jay and make nature-inspired art and lifestyle items using plants through my online shop, Goldfeather.
HD: Can you tell us about your love of plants and herbalism?
AH: Growing up in a rural environment, I was surrounded by nature. I didn’t realize how much of a blessing that was until I went away to school. When I graduated and came back to live with my parents, a lot of my relatives were getting really sick. I became interested in health and wellness and enrolled in an herbalism school in the area to learn more about plant medicine. The program felt like learning a new language. I went from loving nature but only seeing green to seeing an encyclopedia of plants and properties when I look outside. I saw a real opportunity to supplement western medicine with plant medicine. Herbalism is about sustaining the body for the long term, not quick results but rather an ongoing lifestyle.
HD: What suggestions do you have for people to stay engaged with plants and the earth when a lot of us are being forced to stay inside, whether living in a city or a more rural area?
AH: All you need to grow plants is a windowsill. Even just having one houseplant to care for enlightens your space. Every day kind of feels the same right now, but I wake up and see that a plant has a new leaf or a seed has sprouted, I’m reminded that things are still moving and changing. I’ve been really into doing regrows of food scraps and saving seeds, especially with composting suspended due to COVID. You can regrow scallions, bok choy, lettuce, even pineapples. You can also germinate dried beans from your pantry by putting them in a wet paper towel inside of a plastic bag and taping it to a window. It will sprout, and then you can plant that to grow beans. If you want to go even further, there are community gardens throughout most cities. Even if you don’t want to be a member, they just need help weeding and watering and will probably give you free produce for helping.
For people in rural areas, I would say start a victory garden. During World War I and II, people started victory gardens to grow easy crops for survival. Now there has been a resurgence, and it’s a beautiful thing to do for yourself and your community.
If you don’t want to grow your own fruits and vegetables, I recommend looking into a Community Shared Agriculture program (CSA). It’s a great way to support local, small agriculture by getting fresh produce directly from the farmer. It cuts out the middleman, the supermarket, shortening the food chain and reducing your environmental impact. You can find CSAs near you just by searching online.
HD: What are some of your favorites right now (tea, essential oil, plant)?
AH: My mom put me onto a green tea called genmaicha, which contains roasted Japanese brown rice. It gives me the boost of energy I need to feel like I’m taking care of myself. The essential oil I always come back to is lavender. The aroma always takes me to a space of calm. I even put a couple drops in my laundry. I try to work with plants I know I have a lot of access to. I’m quarantining with my family right now, and there is so much dandelion around them. Dandelions are wonderful wild, edible plants. You can use the leaves in salads, fry the flowers to make fritters, and dig up the roots for an alternative to coffee.
HD: What do the words “living in harmony” mean to you?
AH: I think of finding a sense of peace in your living space and creating a haven where you feel calm, safe, and nurtured. It’s an ongoing practice you’re always thinking about, shifting, and adapting to continue living harmoniously.
HD: How does your environment speak to your “invironment”? How do you intentionally create your environment through decorating your living space?
AH: I’ve had a shift in what brings me joy. For a long time, I kept a lot of stuff around me. Lately, I’m more intentional about the objects I keep and introduce. When I have a lot of stuff around, it’s harder to be creative. Objects hold memories, and they affect our mood and how we feel. When putting together my space, I look for plant-inspired art, crystals, and other items from nature. I love vintage items with a story behind them.
HD: What’s next that’s exciting for you?
AH: I would love to one day have my own nature center for kids, one focused on equity and inclusion to make sure kids who didn’t grow up with access to plants and the environment can learn about what has been part of our culture as black people since the beginning of time. Growing plants and working with herbs is nothing new at all, but I think we’ve kind of lost our way in terms of being connected to plants. Now, I feel like there’s a real push to come back to it. I’ve also been thinking it would be cool to write a kids’ book about plants.
