Focus on Joy (bouquets) [make shade offer shelter provide relief].
30 handmade bundles [Indigo dyed organic cotton, seed packs with: Canada Wild Rye, Sunflowers, Anise Hyssop, and Bee Balm (Wild Bergamot)]
Christina Battle, 2024, ongoing  (this iteration: 2025 for the Bentway in Toronto)

Times of ongoing crisis result in emotions of grief that need to be overcome and contended with. Focus on Joy (bouquets) invites us to consider the power of joy and visualize ways forward while spending time caring for and learning from flowers. Each bundle focuses on plants that grow and thrive together as companions, offering support not only to one another but to the overall ecosystem: the soil, the pollinators, the creatures that frequent them…and us. The project values the time and space shaped by the anticipation of imagining forward and invites participants to plant now for bouquets in future seasons.

This iteration brings together flowers and grasses inspired by the Bentway’s focus on the vital and democratizing role of shade, and considers how tall plant species can contribute to offering shelter and relief to smaller plants, animals, and organisms.

Limited to 30 participants.