Today was the 49th Boston Gardener’s Gathering. It is an annual event held at Northeastern University that brings together gardeners from Boston and surrounding areas for a day of workshops and exchanges, and for reestablishing (and/or forging new) connections after the long New England winter. Mayor Michelle Wu (accompanied by her two-month-old baby daughter) delivered the keynote address, which was a beautiful, reaffirming optimistic message of growth and resilience. I went to two fantastic workshops, one about soil health and concocting microbial inoculates (it really was a chemistry lab and a lot of fun!), and one on growing sweet potatoes, led by the legendary Elnora Thompson. I met a lot of neighbors and fellow Boston gardeners and went home with a sweet potato slip (thanks, Elnora!) that I promptly potted up. I really needed this kind of kinship today. I also went home with about 200 packages of free seeds for our community garden. I can’t wait for spring!