Supporting the Companions

Recognizing those who support others through crisis, Supporting the Companions offers an opportunity to learn from the beautiful Marigold (Tagetes spp.) – a well-known and reliable companion plant. Supported by a microgrant from the BIPOC Fellowship, Supporting the Companions is offered to those artists or non-profit sector leaders who are dedicated to developing and centring climate and sustainability focused issues through their work. A participatory art project, Supporting the Companions invites others to spend time with and learn from the marigold while receiving the beauty and joy they offer across the season. Supporting the Companions also considers the power of citation and includes a series of collective readings (at a distance) directly integrated into the project and accessible online. Sign up below to participate and receive a Supporting the Companions toolkit via mail. Project timeline: mid-May through fall, 2025. Limited to 20.

As a participant in this project you are asked to be able to take part across the project’s timeline: mid-May through fall 2025. Together, we will plant marigold seeds (saved from the summer of 2024), follow a few provided prompts, and take part in a (distanced) collective reading circle as they grow. Later in the fall, you are asked to save seeds from your growing marigolds and share them within another.

The project is now full. This site archives the project so that you can still follow along with us. If you’d like some marigold seeds get in touch.

Each Supporting the Companions toolkit includes:

2 marigold beeswax candles
1 clay candle holder
5 project cards with instructions
1 seed pack with marigold seeds (saved in the 2024 season)
2 pouches (hand dyed with marigold flowers saved in the 2024 season)

(Distanced) collective reading circle texts:

card #1 (April/early May): The Weight of Air by Siobhan Angus and Elaina Foley (CSC, 2025, pg 13-20)
card #2 (late May): Beauty Is a Method by Christina Sharpe (e-flux Journal, 2019)
card #3 (summer solstice – June 20th): Tell the Others by Alexis Pauline Gumbs (Ways of Repair, 2025)
card #4 (fall): The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Emergence Magazine, 2022)

Cards to follow along (click to open pdf in new tab):

Seed saving resources:

Check out my Seed Saving Guide [version three, summer 2024] (pdf opens in new tab) for tips on how to save your marigold seeds in the fall.

dried marigold flower heads ready to collect seeds

Here’s another useful resource for learning more about saving Marigold (Tagetes spp.) seeds: How to Harvest & Save Marigold Seeds – Gardener’s Path, 2022.