Dr. Jenny Horsman: Educator, Gardener, and Artist

There’s something special about a community garden, even if that garden is in someone’s yard. Jenny Horsman noticed during the pandemic that parents and children needed new spaces to enjoy, so she opened up her garden. 

This not only provided a peaceful environment during stressful times, but she also believes it helped people get more in touch with the land and their own creativity, as gardening has done for her. 

“But in the process, I think of people being in the space. They do grow an awareness of the land and the care of the land. And what does it look like to take a breath and try to create something that's life giving?”

Jenny’s art is all about reimagining. She doesn’t see a broken mirror and think it's trash. She sees an invitation to create something even more beautiful out of it. 

“It's about seeing where is the beauty in the brokenness.”

This philosophy carries through her gardening. Jenny does not want to own her garden alone, she wants to be able to share its beauty with everyone around her. 

“Reimagining the things we throw away and the spaces that we, you know, might put a fence around and say ‘mine.’ Instead, what happens if I re-imagine that and I open it up and say, ‘Everyone's.’”

A film by Joana Betzner.

Original Score by Mohsin Zaman.