Dear Reader,
Welcome to generation 1 of marigold Mag.
I have been researching and adoring the Marigold for over a decade. Though I would love to tell the story Of cempasuchil with greater verisimilitude, the truth is that colonizers have always been the purveyors of low-quality botanical facts. Our Botanies are only as true as our stories. Few stories are held by history. even fewer are believed. Plants and people have a friendship as old as human life on earth. along the way, maps of floral geography have been drawn in the names of the few. the documents that have fought the test of time are the flimsy extant keys available to us to unlock a small fraction of what we call the botanical record.
The Marigold Society is a guerilla botanical society dedicated to a radically ubiquitous yet highly mysterious common flower. The Flower’s magic hides in plain sight. Members write botanical history with each seed we share, each plant we cultivate, and every interaction we cherish. Cempasuchil has been a friend to many as we seek access to worlds passed and those yet to come. The flower’s stories are as abundant as its blossoms, when we learn to ask questions. This is a first-generation compilation of some of the extraordinary plant/human relationships formed through the Marigold society. This story is as real as the one found in book 11 of the Florentine codex, the first documented account of cempoalxochitl/cempasuchil in botanical literature, as reliable as the description of the marigold in the Encyclopedia Britannica, and as believable as the article on tagetes in the Jepson manual and the sunset guide.
And, like any genus and species, this is a list of some but not all of the contributors to this floral legacy. in no particular order:
vinothini Satchithananthan~Maggie Orion~Dayanita ramesh~ caitlin mathes~Gagan Moorthi~Anita Adalja~ Sara Reigler~sandy bloom~jason bonilla~antonio palafox~Kaocheng vang~ivette iztapapalotl~Sarindar Dhaliwal~ Mari rose taruc~ Kali Rabaut~nisha Marwaha~conrad ruiz~sita Kuratomi Bhaumik~Amber tamm~kevin hamilton~tlalli cortez~aster foley~me, janaki anagha~Several more anonymous members
Conrad Ruiz
“Golden Slumbers”, 2023. Watercolor on paper. (55 x 45 in.) Framed.
I had a show in Los Angeles that was dedicated to my father and this painting was the centerpiece. It was a tiger cremation ceremony in Bhopal, India. I felt a connection to the image and it made sense to represent the idea of my dad as this unique creature. My dad was a larger-than-life presence for me. The marigolds as the wreath inspired me to focus on painting the flower in other works. I love how the flowers are vibrant and often mirror the textures of flames that I’ve already been painting.
Janaki Anagha
this is an adaptation of the cyanometer, first developed by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure and Alexander von Humboldt in 1789. The original tool was held up to approximate a common perception of the blueness of the sky.
“golden goddess, breathe, marigold’s lullabies, embodied in body, I’ve been looking for harmony all along, spread your nectar, a multitude of multiples, seed to seed, breathe, again & again & again & again.If you listen closely, not just with your ears, you will understand that the marigold understands. For she speaks a global language, the global language. her music holds tones from South America, India and Africa & many more. she alone sews unity across continents and ethnicities. Regardless of where you come from, she loves you and she is loved by you. Whether dried or fresh from the earth, here she is, ready for harmony & attunement. She is definition of being benefical to all beings & all environments, all lands & all waters. So listen to her closely, for her wisdom is endless, her wisdom is that of any ancient text, her wisdom is ready for you. “Amber Tamm, 2024
Learning a Lesson via a Lullaby/Marigold’s Wisdom
marigold society insert accompanying all seed correspondence
Dayanita Ramesh
an illustration of the magic of the marigold society
Vinothini Satchithananthan
pattern on marigold paper
Sara Reigler
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Hold my feet to the flame as I hold this flame over your grave. Never stop holding me accountable to my purpose. no matter what side of the divide you are on. I needed you. I need you still.Tlalli Cortez
Mari Rose Taruc
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Sarindar Dhaliwal
The cartographer’s mistake: the Radcliffe Line, 2012. Chromira print, 107 x 107 cm. Collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik
menu for the Oakland,California chapter of the Marigold Society gathering in November 2017. In celebration of the birthday of Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik
Sara Reigler
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Jason Bonilla
hand-lettered excerpt from the Grapes of Wrath. Fresno,CA 2015
Anita Adalja
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Dear D,When you shared with me that you were looking at the end of your life in a more concrete way, I felt the need to bring you marigolds. These were grown in this community by women I have known a long time though not as long as I have known you. Marigolds have many different meanings in different cultures. They represent the sun and life in Hinduism, a way to worship in Buddhism, a way to attract love and celebrate love as they adorn weddings, bright and scented signposts for those who have passed over to find their way back to family for Mexico’s Day of the Dead, and a symbol of mourning and remembrance in the Victorian era. In Christianity, they were presented to the Virgin Mary in prayer when someone did not have gold coins to offer and became symbolic of her gold crown. In ancient Egypt and Greece, they symbolized healing and restoration.They are tough flowers growing vigorously in places all over the world and great companions to other plants for their pest aversion properties. They have been used for beauty, medicine, fuel, decoration, and ritual. While you stand in this moment of your full life, at the threshold we will all have to walk through, perhaps these flowers, each of them, can remind you of all your blessings and the opportunities still ahead. Your cheer and loss, the wealth of love you’ve accrued along this journey, the spirits who are watching over us and ready to greet you, all there is to worship, this present moment careening around the sun in the vast universe. I want to tell you that of all the time that either of us could have lived, the fact that we got to overlap our time together, is a gratitude I carry with me. Thank you, D, for showing me the strength and spirit an often-solo woman journey can look like, for being a heart mentor in a tiny cabin in the woods, for cooking nourishing soup for us who visited you there, for taking care of dad’s dog after he died, for beaming at my son, for never holding back your love and generosity. Anonymous
letter to a friend
Maggie Orion
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Conrad Ruiz
two large-scale watercolors were shown together at Galeriedroste in düsseldorf. I’m enjoying the tension between the works. One side presents a blistering euphoria, an indescribable experience vs larger than life blooms from French marigolds. During the process of finishing the folds of the petals, I felt validated by how similar they were to the flames.
a short essay about marigolds and gardens.This year I had big plans for the garden. 40+ varieties of marigolds.I started waves of seeds, new trays, steady care.I did want a wilder feeling to my garden this year, though. Let the paths grow in a bit, less woodchip-y. Maybe like a few years ago, when I had a secret room that grew out of the high growing, dense teasel, and my dog's tie up? Someone pointed it out to me... how sweet a little room that was... and I wanted it back.So, my mind planned for tall weeds intermingling with marigolds, secret rooms, and lush blooms.I also planned on seeding, free seeding both marigolds and a fountain of seed mixes and cosmos.Anyone who knows what gardening is will understand. It is planning for one thing and then finding the patience and flexibility and hard work to make just something. It takes months, especially in hopes that the seedlings will fill in this bare soil you prepare. Marigolds, while quick to grow, are truly a short day, autumn flower, and don't hit their stride until late August/ September.No matter how much you plan for an early season, their true rolling beauty is not going to appear until later. Not everyone knows that, because they are so used to seeing them blooming at the plant sales of May... but marigolds reserve their prime for September (here in upstate New York).About plans. Two years ago I planned for my first big planting... and Alternaria descended in that wet summer, preventing the sea of color that I had imagined. That season, I relied on the tagetes patulas for my color and cheer, who were not affected by the blight. Last year, the tarnished plant bug kept my marigolds verdant and foliage-full, but ate the buds hollow, and taught me about trusting that eventually healthy plants will win out and simply overpower the TPB, with a little help from Bronner's soap, and a sprayer. On a s-hope, and a s-prayer. This year, the animals have snacked intensely on my well laid plans. Of the 1300 of my original planting... I would guess that 500 have been gobbled in one way or another. At least it feels that way. Bare rows, marigold stems disappeared in the blink of an eye... and a dog who is absolutely more interested in lying about looking gorgeous than going to battle with my adversaries.Already, I left areas bare so I could free seed, and now it's even MORE bare? I wanted lush and wild!What I have leaned into this season is the hope, actual optimism, in a certainty that the beauty will come. This is what I am now trusting. Marigolds are incredibly resilient, and beauty is already growing from the soil and the rain and the sun. The critters are my little over-enthusiastic groundskeepers, overly pruning things, but equally in love with the marigolds as I am. It is so much easier to move forward and trust in the beauty of the garden to come if I view them that way. It is actually cute. I bought more starts to replace some of what I had lost, and I did another seeding. I bought rolls of pest netting, and space age sonic devices, which are hilarious and probably not doing a thing. They emit a pitch that calls out "vooooooole" and then the vole is supposed to be struck with fear of this omnipotent sonic deity and run away.Things will grow, and these little critter gardeners have actually ensured that the plants won't be exhausted by the time we arrive in September. They are ensuring that the tidy rows of solid variety types I had planned will become wild and intermingled with varying types and colors and heights. As all my cosmo and marigold seedings are coming up, I can imagine the wash of color that will be blooming and swaying in the breeze. Pinks and oranges and reds and yellows and greens are what I wanted this year, and they are coming. Patiently I will wait for them. It is not as I planned, but it is what I wanted. Anyone who knows what gardening is will understand. It is a practice in patience, and robust conversation, gratitude, enthusiasm, delight, and resilience. The marigold is for people who love these qualities. People who want to engage and grow along with their gardens. I am so lucky to have found this flower planted down in my chest, lucky I can lean on it and learn from it, lucky I get to sing its praises, and so lucky to witness the beauty it will bring.Caitlin Mathes
a short essay about marigolds and gardens.
Mari Rose Taruc
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MARIgOLD HONEYI HAD ONE LONG DREAM THATBECAME PART OF MY DAY-BECAUSE IT KEPT PLAYING OVERAND OVER- THAT WE MADE SOMEHONEY THAt WAS COlORED wITH MARIGOLDS TO PAINT OUR TONGUESAND WE SPENT HOURS LAZILYPASSINGIt FROM ONE mouth TO THE OTHER FEELING THE TEXTurE OF LIPS ANDSOFTLY BITING MAKING GENTLE SHAPES WITH OUR VOICESAS IF TO SAY-MAY THE SWEETNESS NEVeRSTOP-Anonymous
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Nisha Marwaha
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Anonymous
Marrakesh, Morocco
Sara Reigler
The Flowers on Capitalism’s Grave
Gagan Moorthy
Outside of local gardens, I run into marigolds in my work on an ongoing project about flower vendors and the LA Flower Market. I’ve attached some photos from past visits and I’ll be sure to share more as I build the project.
Marigold Society logo prototype
Jun 2019 golden bloom
are you
the slightest bit
of my favourite old
marigold?
yes, you were
you were marigold all around
bloomed awake all year round
but my beloved summer bloom
left my heart a bit too soonEXCERPT submitted by Sandy Bloom
Anita Adalja
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Aster K. Foley, may they rest in power.
welcome to Our Hell is a Choose Your Own Cancer Adventure by Lex Rivers (@_salty.lex) and Aster K. Foley (@easternfolly). Follow along with two transgender patients facing incurable cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kaocheng Vang
my family grows fresh vegetables in Del rey California. I love this picture because my mother is harvesting onions and in the bottom is what looks like a trapezoidal void. The void is actually the reflection of her weigh scale that she will use to weigh her produce. It may be $1-2 worth of produce she has spent the hour processing. I think it’s an amazing symbol of what she is actually doing. Making nearly nothing, pouring her soul into the land.
Ivette Itzapapalotl
sin titulo
Anonymous
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"The crocodiles were regularly seen floating, basking and laying around the yellow and orange flowers, often maintaining "physical contact" with them. Marigold petals are known to have antimicrobial compounds that can help protect skin from fungi and bacteria, researchers said, and given the sewage contamination in the Savitri, it's believed that contact could help alleviate such issues."
