Stonecrop Review

Issue 5: Flora is here! Read about birds alighting on frozen kumquats, cottonwoods crawling under fences, and the flavor of balcony-grown lemongrass chai. Cover art by Morgan Alexa Braid. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

In her essay “Searching for a Banyan in the Northwest”, Vimla Sriran yearns for New Delhi but discovers a sense of belonging in the Pacific Northwest through her backyard trees. Read more in Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

The sensuous suggestiveness oozing from spring flowers is made tangible in Lew Forester’s poem “Magnolia Grandiflora”. Read more in Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

In his poem “These Trees”, Lew Forester observes in consternation that the trees “are never where we leave them. The cottonwood crawls under / the fence, sends up saplings / in my neighbor’s yard.” Urban flora, it seems, is more active than we realize! stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

In Germain M.C.’s fiction piece, “Carry Home With You,” a patch of grass that’s been transplanted from industrial town Pasadena, TX, to the cleaner air of Austin remains resolutely yellow—but also resolutely alive. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

“They are mistaken, those who say that trees cannot move.” @priyankasacheti's photo essay of weeds and trees growing from rock walls and pavement cracks is a beautiful glimpse into urban flora in Bangalore. Read more in Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

In “Stellaria media Namul and mugwort Tteok”, Sarah Song finds a sense of connection with her Korean upbringing by cooking with the spring wildflowers growing in her yard. Read more in Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

Splurging on avocados in response to the stress of the pandemic evolves slowly into a windowsill forest of sprouted avocado pits in Andrea Lani’s piece “Alligator Pear”. A tasty guacamole recipe included! Read more in Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

The aroma of lemongrass brings back memories of sneaking into the kitchen for a few sips of chai in Anaita Vazifdar-Davar’s piece “Parvati’s Chai”. The recipe reminds you to make two cups—“because you can’t stop at just one!" Read more in Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

In this issue’s Readers Corner, Sara Collie describes how Mary Oliver’s poetry in ‘New and Selected Poems: Volume One’ inspired her to begin writing again. Read more in Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

In this issue’s Readers Corner, @DawsonClara invites us to explore Wordsworth’s daffodil poem with her as she walks through the park, drinking in the colors and shapes and movement in the flora around her. Read her piece in full in Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

I’m happy my wedding wildflowers essay found such a beautiful home in @StonecropReview.

The perfect garden seems out of reach in L. Lu’s piece “A Better Perfection”—until its explosive growth into “an eclectic junkyard of flower, leaf and bud” creates an oasis of joy and a hub of community in the neighborhood. Read more in Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

In "A Field Guide to Ohio Wildflowers,” @shelleymann writes about the flowers that symbolize her marriages and the way she has grown and changed over time. Read more in Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

@itsdbouts' collages, abundant with fruit and wildflowers and nudes gazing out of the page, are at once surreal and mesmerizing. Enjoy them in the pages of Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

As she spades up earthworms, Elisabeth Plumlee-Watson reflects on her unexpected kinship to 9th century gardener and poet Walahfrid Strabo in her essay “A 9th Century German Poet in my 21st Century Garden”. Read more in Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

Colorful abstract flowers fill the page in Morgan Alexa Braid’s beautiful illustrations—including our cover image! See more in Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

In Jessica Lott’s essay, “The Trees of Montjuïc,” urban trees come to symbolize the freedom that Jessica desperately longs for during Spain’s first, intense pandemic lockdown. Read more in Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

Maroula Blades’ photography captures urban winter scenes where bare vines climb walls and felled trees are stacked for firewood. Maroula’s photos are a reminder that urban flora is present all year round. See more in Issue 5: Flora! stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…

Flowers spring up through pavement cracks and sweet peas wind their way up fire hydrants in Lindsey Morrison Grant’s striking digital photos and digitally painted photos. See more in Issue 5: Flora. stonecropreview.com/issues/issue-5…