Braiding Sweetgrass and Paying Attention
May 22, 2026
If I had to choose the first book for the Botanic Living library, I would choose Braiding Sweetgrass. Not because it is trendy. Because it teaches the kind of attention I want this space to practice. Gratitude. Stewardship. Paying attention to the world around us. Receiving what has been given with care. Giving back in the ways we can.
Those ideas belong here. They belong in the garden, where tomatoes, peppers, basil, herbs, flowers, and volunteers are all growing at their own pace. They belong at the edge of the property, where the wildflowers arrive in waves and remind me that beauty has seasons. They belong in the chicken routine, in the compost, in the kitchen, and in the way a home becomes more peaceful through repeated care.
What I appreciate about this book is that it does not separate beauty from responsibility. It asks us to notice. That sounds simple, but it changes things. When you notice, the garden becomes more than a project. The food becomes more than ingredients. The home becomes more than a place to keep things clean. Business becomes more than growth. Everything becomes connected to how we steward what has been entrusted to us.
That is the kind of reading I want to bring into Botanic Living. Not books as decoration. Books as companions. Books that help us build with more attention, more gratitude, and more care. I keep returning to the idea that small consistent choices create extraordinary outcomes over time. Paying attention is one of those choices. It is small enough to overlook and powerful enough to change how we live.
Look at what is growing. Notice what is fading. Pay attention to what keeps returning. Care for what is in your hands. That feels like a good place for the Botanic Living library to begin.
With love and intention,
Jennifer
