Hey there, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Timbidairmias.

My dad found his green thumb in recent years, and if witnessing his botanical adventures has taught me anything,

it's that gardens change people. They root you in a community, help you grow and imagine what's possible,

even ground you. It's a sentiment that's at the heart of poet Camille Dungey's new

book, soil, the story of a black mother's garden. She spoke about it recently with NPR's Melissa

Block, a gardener in her own right, and touched on all the ways that the natural world shape and

are shaped by things that you might not think about, race, gender, even whether you live in a

neighborhood, any neighborhood. And in writing about her own connection to nature, Dunjee is doing

something utterly poetic, making space for others to do the same and find their way to growth.

Here she is with Melissa Block.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods. NPR reporters

on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter

here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

And why not? It's spring. So let's get out of the studio and into the garden.

Like many of you, I bet.

I've spent a lot more time in my garden during the COVID years.

We've ripped up all the sod and we filled what used to be lawn with flowering perennials.

They're mostly native, friendly to pollinators, and about 1,500 miles west of me.

Good morning. How are you?

In Fort Collins, Colorado, poet Camille Dungey has done the same thing. I'm going to walk you first through what we call the Prairie Project.

We connected by FaceTime Video, Garden to Garden.

Sunflowers, and I love this one.

...