Garden like a Garden Witch

What does it mean to garden like a witch? Grab your hat, because we’re getting weird and witchy. On this week’s episode of Garden Like, host Kelsey nerds out with Alycia Tumlin, aka the Garden Witch– avid gardener, urban homesteader, women’s circle guide, and village auntie. Alycia gardens in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, where she grows pretty much year-round, in a small suburban backyard. She guides us through what it means to be a garden witch, from saying hello to your plants every morning to timing your planting by the Wheel of the Year, pruning with intention, and making peace with the critters. Along the way, we learn that gardening like a witch means tending your inner garden as much as your outer one. In this episode: What “witch” means: Alycia describes a witch as a self-sufficient woman on the fringes who walks the line between the seen and unseen worlds, like midwives, doulas, healers, and herbalists. She calls out the full cycle of life and death in the garden. Garden witch vs. green witch: In Alycia’s words, it’s a Venn diagram. She describes a green witch as more focused on the plants themselves and transforming them into medicines and salves, and a garden witch as focused on tending and caretaking. Moreover, you don’t need a garden to be “garden hearted.” The Wheel of the Year: Alycia explains the Wheel as a modern interpretation drawing on seasonal celebrations from around the world, mostly in Europe. It splits the year into eight points, roughly six weeks apart, at the solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days. Pruning with intention: Alycia walks us through a pruning ritual for the season: name something in your life you want to cut back, thank the plant, and make the snip. It works with a houseplant too. Community: It is hard to garden in a vacuum. For better or for worse, plants like to grow themselves and us into the vicinity of our neighbors. After the HOA started spraying near the green belt where she forages, Alycia and her husband got involved. He’s now HOA president, she’s on the landscaping committee, and the community has stopped spraying entirely. Goats now clear the green belts and fire breaks. Your next step: Go outside, get quiet, and listen. Then start a garden grimoire: write down what you notice, so next year you remember which beds lose their sun by mid-October. Find Alycia: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alyciagardens/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alyciagardens Women’s circles: https://www.selfsowngarden.com/ Garden Witch shop (tees, totes, hats, and journals for your own garden grimoire): https://gardenwitch.me/ Resources: “W.I.T.C.H.” by Devon Cole (Woman In Total Control of Herself) Follow Garden Like: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gardenlikepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gardenlikepod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gardenlikepod Have an idea for a “Garden Like” episode? Email [email protected]. This episode was hosted by Kelsey Segaloff, produced by Deanna Healey, and edited by Guido Bertolini.