What We Sow
On the Personal, Ecological, and Cultural Significance of Seeds

Quotes

“What a wonderful, informative, useful book! A guidebook, a diary, a book of days, an almanac, a map, an encyclopedia, a corrective, and even a book of prayers….Wisdom Jewell shares with deepest grace.”—Camille T. Dungy, author of Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden

“A fascinating discourse on seeds, how we use and abuse them, and how to forge a more sustainable relationship with the seeds we depend on.”—Douglas W. Tallamy, author of Nature’s Best Hope

“A delightful blend of science and storytelling. With a single seed as her starting point, Jennifer Jewell takes us on a journey fueled by curiosity and wonder.”
 —Amy Stewart, author of Wicked Plants

“With elegance and vulnerability, Jewell weaves stories from ecology, horticulture, food and her own life into a full and round narrative that reflects the fragility, hope and resilience of seeds along with their impact on our daily lives.”
 —Uli Lorimer, Director of Horticulture at Garden In The Woods, Native Plant Trust

“Jewellinvites the reader to celebrate the extraordinary power and metaphor encapsulated in seeds.”—Jun Bando, Executive Director California Native Plant Society

“If you are a Cultivating Place listener, it’s likely you’ll hear Jennifer speaking as you read these words. This is a good thing; the curiosity in her voice adds another layer of appreciation to the topic of seeds; magical, glorious seeds.”  —Loree Bohl, author of Fearless Gardening

“What We Sow unspools the essence of seeds as the planetary lifeboats they are. Our future may be uncertain, but, as anyone knows who’s ever poked a seed into dirt and watched in wonder as a tiny pair of leaves unfurls and grows, seeds give us hope.”—Pam Penick, author of Lawn Gone

“Jennifer Jewell is a wise guide and skilled storyteller. An enlightening and important book.”—Georgina Reid, creator of Wonderground and author of The Planthunter

"The personal, the historical, and the scientific are woven into Jennifer’s penetrative book, bringing our focus to the kernels grown in pastures and gardens that nourish humanity. What We Sow illuminates the importance of seeds in preserving our histories, heritage, cultures, and family legacies; and of the need to maintain the seed diversity that I hope will someday restore decimated landscapes across the planet.”
 —Wambui Ippolito

 “With seeds as her lens, Jewell exquisitely and approachably calls our contemporary way of living to task for its "nature blindness" and offers strategies and stories of people and ways of being working towards a future that is more resilient, kind, and whole. I pray these seeds take root.”
 —David Godshall, TERREMOTO