Lucibella Farm is a special place located in Bowie, Maryland, 45 minutes from Washington, DC. It used to be a tobacco farm and was transformed into a haven for trees, plants, birds, frogs, and insects over the course of 30 years by Charles Mewshaw, the late Alain George Minno and Geoffrey Lindstrom, local horticulturalists and landscape architects. Charles and Alain bought the farm on June 10, 1983, and Geoffrey moved to the farm in 2005. In July 2015, Michael Kiefer, local beekeeper & farmer, became enamored with the farm and purchased it. The blooming Asian magnolias and the brightly colored peacocks fanning feathers wooed him, and he fell in love instantly. Soon came along a tabby cat from a nearby local farm, Bella, and afterwards a beautiful black Bouvier, Lucy, hence the name Lucibella Farm. In Italian, “Lucibella” means the beautiful light of dawn. When he’s not taking care of Lucy and Bella, and Marley, Michael enjoys tending to his bees, chickens and peacocks. He loves planting fruit trees, and growing diverse flower and vegetable varieties. He integrates permaculture practices, and does not use any pesticides. I started taking photos at the farm over the course of four seasons. In every season, the farm is beautiful in a different way. Here I share some of the images of trees, plants, insects and birds that thrive at Lucibella Farm!

Join me in this journey not to another country, but to another kingdom--the Plant Kingdom! Gardening is both rewarding and challenging for me. I am always learning new things. For example, it is so important to continually build and nourish the soil. Gardening is not just about growing plants, but growing the soil. Check out the film Symphony of the Soil. Also it is so important to have plants that help to sustain beneficial insects, like bees, to help pollinate crops. Open-pollinated seeds are important because they allow people to save seeds. I am appalled at what Monsanto is doing worldwide with their patented seeds and pesticides. They pretend like they are helping farmers, but instead they are wreaking havoc on rural communities worldwide and putting our global food supply in serious jeopardy. Check out Seed Savers and Millions Against Monsanto.

Close your eyes and think of Cuba…What types of images does it conjure in your mind? In spite of its isolation or maybe because of it, the forbidden island of Cuba is incredibly diverse and rich in terms of its history, culture, arts and the environment. In spite of their continuing struggle or perhaps because of it, the Cuban people have become stronger and more resourceful. I traveled to Havana, Trinidad, and Viñales. All these places were beautiful! Whether I was walking the street in Havana, horseback riding in Viñales, or listening to live music in Trinidad, everywhere I went I stumbled across beautiful colors and captured these images.