Overview
Join Margot Anne Kelly for a deep dive in the world of a plant. Working with one plant each, participants will practice careful seeing and verbalizing, considering a plant from as many vantages as possible. Key questions include: Where did the plant originate? When was it cultivated (if it was)? By whom and why? What are its properties? What does it look like at various stages of its life? Does it have an odor that humans can detect? How does it propagate? How is it faring now? Is it endangered? Threatened? Thriving? With whom does it dwell well? What conditions does it need? Where does it live now? How will climate change likely alter its world? Although brainstorming and investigating will begin before arriving at Oak Spring Garden Foundation, participants are encouraged to select a plant that grows well at the Foundation —be it on the farm, in the gardens, or in the local landscape.
With a richer insight into our respective plants, the course will then explore connections and intersections among our collective observations. What broader concerns relate to the plant? How does it connect to our personal preoccupations? Is it offering itself as a metaphor? An analogy? An example? Or is the plant calling for a closer examination in and of itself? If so, why? And in what ways?
The course will utilize the Oak Spring Garden Library to further broaden our inquiry. Diving deep into the collections and archives, we will research the etymology of various plant names, learn about lore associated with each plant, and discover information about their appearances in mythology, medicine, literature, and art. As ideas emerge and begin to coalesce, participants will work on integrating such robust knowledge into a piece of writing. By this time, participants will have read several pieces that employ the close observation of plants in their craft.
Each participant will leave with stronger research skills, deeper knowledge of their plant, and a compelling start to an essay or piece of writing.
This is a hybrid course: two online (Zoom) lectures will provide a foundation and resources to set the stage; then the course will gather on-site for two delightful days of learning and research in the library and Apple House.
Instructor
Margot Anne Kelley is a writer and visual artist whose work focuses on human relationships to the rest of the natural world. Her most recent book, A Gardener at the End of the World, was published in 2024. It is both a pandemic memoir grounded in her garden and an exploration of the myriad ways humans have co-evolved with plants and viruses. Earlier books include A Field Guide to Other People’s Trees, Local Treasures: Geocaching Across America, and Foodtopia: Communities in Pursuit of Peace, Love, & Homegrown Food, which won The Readable Feast’s award for Best Book in the Socially Conscious Category in 2022. With the photographer Barbara Bosworth, Kelley co-authored The Meadow, which was a Time Magazine Best Photobook of 2016.
Before turning to writing full-time, Kelley taught at the college and university levels for twenty-five years. Among the experiences she treasures from her teaching career was being a visiting artist in the Studio for Interrelated Media at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, during which she co-taught “Nature, Science, and Art” each spring semester for nearly a decade. Kelley now lives in rural Maine and is at work on a new book about plant-loving literary writers from the 1850s.
Supplies
All participants must bring their own laptop or tablet, notebook, camera (phone will do!) and pencils (pens are not allowed in the library).
Eligibility
This course is open to anyone with an interest or background in writing. The readings for the course are non-fiction but passionate writers from all literary genres are welcome. This course will be capped at 12 participants.
About OSGF
The Oak Spring Garden Foundation (OSGF) is an operating foundation based on the former estate of Paul and Rachel 'Bunny' Mellon, two of the major U.S. philanthropists of the second half of the twentieth century. OSGF is located in the northern Virginia Piedmont and Blue Ridge Mountains region (ca. one-hour drive from Washington, D.C.). Led by Sir Peter Crane, the Foundation’s inaugural President, OSGF supports fellowships and residencies for artists and scholars, offers short courses, and engages its multiple audiences, including its local community in practical horticulture, as well as land stewardship for the conservation and restoration of biodiversity. OSGF is rapidly becoming a new center of excellence and stimulation for all things botanical, from fundamental research in plant evolution, to horticulture and plant conservation, as well as the history and contemporary practice of plant, garden and landscape art.
Accommodation and Travel Information
Participants will be accommodated with all meals and private lodging on site at Oak Spring.
Participants are responsible for arranging their own travel to the Washington, D.C. area. If flying, please book flights to Dulles International Airport. International applicants are welcome, but fluency in English is necessary. Closer to the start date, the Programs team will assist with coordinating travel arrangements to the Oak Spring Garden Foundation site, as necessary.
Dates and Duration
The on-site portion of the course runs for two (2) days with participants arriving on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 and leaving on Friday, May 30, 2025. Participants should plan to arrive between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 and depart around 2:00pm on Friday, May 30, 2025.
Course Fee
$600 is all-inclusive and covers full tuition, lodging on-site for two nights in our comfortable suites, and all meals on-site (from dinner on Wednesday through lunch on Friday). A limited number of full or partial Fee Waivers are available for this course.
Selection Process
Applications will be reviewed by Margot Anne Kelley and OSGF staff.
Application Deadline
Applications are due Monday, February 10, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST.
The Oak Spring Garden Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. Decisions are made on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, or any other non-merit factor.