Ben, this is Anne, the neighbor who recognized you one morning while I was out gardening. So grateful for this community and though I haven't contributed much to this point, I've been listening and learning a lot and I do really appreciate the virtual cameraderie DSD provides.
On Ukraine: I have been meaning to share for a while but wasn't sure of the right place to do so. Since December 2023, I've been supporting Alla Olkhovska, a Ukranian gardener living in Kharkiv, on Patreon. Her instagram is: https://www.instagram.com/allaolkhovska/
Floret Flower Farm, a leading Pacific NW flower farm turned social media influencer, produced a 30-minute documentary about her in Dec 2023 which was my first introduction to her. I highly recommend it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn6sMZCkAHY
Margaret Roach featured her in a NYTimes gardening column last year.
I also watched a talk she gave that was hosted online by the World Bank, I can't remember exactly when. This past weekend I saw her featured on the BBC flagship gardening program, Gardeners' World. As this list suggests, she is already very well known in the international gardening community but I don't know how much people have heard about her outside that particular niche.
Alla is the sole income earner and caregiver for her family, including her elderly mother in law and grandmother (who has died since the documentary was filmed, certainly hastened by the stress of the war) and her husband, who nearly died of covid right before the war started and who has severely damaged lungs (he had been hospitalized for months and was released in January 2022). She supports all of them by selling seeds (mostly from her collection of rare clematis) and through her photography and social media channels.
I am sharing all this because I'm sure that people in the Dog Shirt community would be very interested in learning more about her story. I am not personally connected with Alla, aside from having a keen interest in her welfare, but please let me know if anyone reading this wants more information. I even thought she may be able to call into the show.
Ben, this is Anne, the neighbor who recognized you one morning while I was out gardening. So grateful for this community and though I haven't contributed much to this point, I've been listening and learning a lot and I do really appreciate the virtual cameraderie DSD provides.
On Ukraine: I have been meaning to share for a while but wasn't sure of the right place to do so. Since December 2023, I've been supporting Alla Olkhovska, a Ukranian gardener living in Kharkiv, on Patreon. Her instagram is: https://www.instagram.com/allaolkhovska/
Floret Flower Farm, a leading Pacific NW flower farm turned social media influencer, produced a 30-minute documentary about her in Dec 2023 which was my first introduction to her. I highly recommend it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn6sMZCkAHY
Margaret Roach featured her in a NYTimes gardening column last year.
I also watched a talk she gave that was hosted online by the World Bank, I can't remember exactly when. This past weekend I saw her featured on the BBC flagship gardening program, Gardeners' World. As this list suggests, she is already very well known in the international gardening community but I don't know how much people have heard about her outside that particular niche.
Alla is the sole income earner and caregiver for her family, including her elderly mother in law and grandmother (who has died since the documentary was filmed, certainly hastened by the stress of the war) and her husband, who nearly died of covid right before the war started and who has severely damaged lungs (he had been hospitalized for months and was released in January 2022). She supports all of them by selling seeds (mostly from her collection of rare clematis) and through her photography and social media channels.
I am sharing all this because I'm sure that people in the Dog Shirt community would be very interested in learning more about her story. I am not personally connected with Alla, aside from having a keen interest in her welfare, but please let me know if anyone reading this wants more information. I even thought she may be able to call into the show.