Watch Me Bloom

Krina Patel-Sage is an illustrator, author, and designer. Beginning her design career at a children’s publishing house in 2012, she developed a passion for illustrated non-fiction. In 2018, she was shortlisted for Penguin’s WriteNow illustration prize. Most days, you’ll find her in the local woods, spotting birds and fungi with her two young sons.

Patel-Sage frequently links the varietals to themes such as confidence, growth, and strength. In “Borage,” “Planted side-by-side,/ garden stars make perfect friends,/ helping others grow.” Hollyhock’s “showy faces, look outward,/ proud and confident.” Other plant descriptions incorporate intergenerational references: azaleas come “from granny’s childhood” and fuchsia is “Grandpa’s pride and joy.” Appropriately sunny illustrations feature figures of varying abilities, creeds, and skin tones making daisy chains with a caregiver, greeting neighbors, and playing outdoors in a work that’s likely to inspire many garden daydreams.