What Plants Teach Us in Winter

The Power of Pausing: A Winter Film About Life Beneath the Surface

Most of the time, when we think of plants, we think of summer: Lush green leaves, colorful blooms, warmth and growth.

But plants don’t disappear in the winter. They just change form, taking advantage and making use of what the winter has to offer. And in that quiet pause, something essential happens.

This is the time that many plants release their seeds: containing all the stored information of everything they've gathered about the previous year. And, especially for native plants, they actually need the cold hard frosts of winter to germinate and sprout in the spring.

That’s what I wanted to capture in my latest film for PlantPop, a client I’ve loved working with for the past few years. They tell stories about people and their relationships with plants — and they’ve consistently given me the creative freedom to follow my curiosity

and find subjects that matter to me, especially here in Maine.

This time, I got to tell the story of Wild Seed Project, a nonprofit working to make our landscapes more biodiverse and resilient by planting native species. I followed Emily Baisden — an incredibly knowledgeable, delightfully nerdy seed enthusiast — through the snowy woods and quiet edges of winter.

Together, we explored what it means to honor winter as an essential life stage — not just for plants, but for us too.

This film is about seeds. It’s about native plants. It’s about slowing down, taking stock, and remembering that not everything important looks like forward motion.

Watch the full film below:

Or click here to watch on vimeo.

If you’re someone who’s craving a slower rhythm — or looking to reconnect with the cycles of nature — I hope this piece offers a little moment of breath and reflection.