You Grow Girl™

- From: AltWeeklies.com (Originally published in Columbus Alive)
Green Thumbs Are the New Black

By Nikki Davis

“Just like knitting and Martha-style home-improvement are the season’s new “black,” gardening is also getting props as the latest take on a perennial classic. In You Grow Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening (Fireside Books), graphic designer, photographer and Readymade magazine contributor Gayla Trail proudly reclaims yet another maligned “woman’s activity” from our mothers’ generation and makes it accessible for the 18-to-35 set.

Based on her award-winning website YouGrowGirl.com, Trail offers more than just the basics; she correctly observes—and addresses—the fact that most people aren’t the smiling owners of parking-lot sized gardens, but might have just a fire escape or windowsill to plant.

With instructions on everything from how to grow your own loofah (!) to cultivating and bagging herbal teas, you’ll never look at those ubiquitous plastic pink sponges and generic teas the same again. A real-life urban gardener, the Toronto native’s transformation of her rooftop deck and neighboring vacant lot into a literal oasis has inspired an active online community where novices and experts exchange ideas, projects and support. And that probably makes green the new black.”