I first encountered Marchelle through Instagram (her handle is @afroliage) where I was struck by her poetic and expressive use of the garden/life metaphor and her Bio which read ‘Gardening as a subversive act. These are the things my garden told me.’

We connected over a post in which she said she was ‘her ancestor’s wildest dream’ which particularly touched something in me as I imagine I am too, as the descendent of 2 young jewish men who made their way to England from Eastern Europe in the mid 19th Century looking for a new, safer life.

I was interested to discover that, as well as being a gardener, she is both a psychotherapist and psychiatrist and,, currently, stay-at-home Mum who is enjoying getting to know her new garden in Somerset.

We had a thought provoking and moving conversation in which we gently explored what it means to her as a black woman of mixed heritage to be gardening in Somerset in the UK, and how she comes to terms with her heritage - that she has both ancestors who were slaves and ancestors who were, mostly likely, slave owners - and how she makes sense of this.

Our conversation flowed through her delightful sounding garden on a hill with a stream all the way to ancestry and slavery with many interesting stops along the way.