“Homegrown” by Carmahn McCalla

Homegrown is a love letter to the wild and familiar flowers that shaped my childhood in Nova Scotia. It’s a visual series rooted in memory, place, and Black identity.

I created these works to share the beauty of the flora I grew up surrounded by: the dandelions we blew apart on school playgrounds, buttercups held under chins, the mayflowers and lady’s slippers tucked deep in the woods of East Preston. I remember goldenrod and lupine lining the highways during road trips to New Brunswick, and thistle growing quietly along the paths to Crystal Crescent Beach. These plants weren’t exotic or rare; they were simply there. Ordinary, yet unforgettable. Woven into everyday life, holding stories of childhood wonder and summer days.

Through this series, I wanted to honor how something as simple as a flower can hold deep emotional and cultural meaning. By pairing native plant species with common Black hairstyles, Homegrown becomes a reflection on how African Nova Scotians, like these plants, are deeply rooted in this land. Our presence is not new, nor imported. It’s generational. With over 400 years of history here, our roots run deep, planted by ancestors who endured, adapted, and blossomed. Homegrown celebrates that legacy; the quiet, steady ways we grow, and the beauty that comes from being both grounded and free.