About Us

to sow: to plant a seed

to tarry: to wait, or linger longer than expected

Moments standing quietly at the edge of a pond waiting for frogs to reemerge, hours spent collecting moss and flowers to make an offering for fairies never seen, a sprint to catch a butterfly, the bravery to rescue a wiggly worm from washing up in a puddle, nights watching the stars float across the sky. 

These are the moments I see my children come alive to the wonder of the world they live in, and I stand in wonder of their precious life that exists, magically, here with me; rediscovering all the secrets of the wild, and hopefully learning more and preserving more than I will ever know.

This is the heart of the Sow & Tarry project, deeply appreciative of the smallest new generation, wanting to give them world, yet knowing we are slowly destroying it. Wanting to give them a childhood outside, free of constraints and screens and advertising; where they are the explorers and experts, where they can practice being observant, inquisitive, appreciative, and generous. 

Knowing their lives will be full of challenges, changes, readjustments, and questioning themselves, may my children always feel at home in the wild, may they call the flowers, and fungi, and trees, and clouds by name, may they have a wide community of plant elders to show them cooperation and grace. And may they tell stories, to learn and remember and share all that they know. 

Sow & Tarry is where the ecology of the woods is simplified and hand-painted, with a dash of magical gnomes. The art is a tool for parents, grandparents, and caregivers to reconnect their littles with the wonders of nature through imagery-led curiosity. Because we know time spent outside feeling the earth under their feet, observing nature, and playing imaginatively will serve them for a lifetime.

Sow & Tarry was founded by illustrator maddy green in 2025. She is raising two little humans in central Virginia in amongst a wild forest and a colorful edible garden.