Welcome to Wildflowers Press. My name is Cathy Schieffelin and I write. I write a lot. Short stories, essays, micro-flash fiction, non-fiction, poetry, letters, children’s stories…. you get the point.

This site is a place for wild words, stories and reflections. Inspired by my maternal grandmother, Octavia Nabors Laidlaw, I dedicate Wildflowers to her memory. Born in 1897, she was a seamstress, craftswoman and baker. Many magical weekends were spent at her home in Avon Lake, Ohio exploring her musty attic – trunks full of treasures. Dressed up in her colorful polyester dresses and hats, I’d pour through stacks of old photos to learn more of my family history, for better or worse.

And then there was her backyard: a garden full of black-eyed Susans, daisies, daffodils, Queen Anne’s Lace, asters, dandelions and all manner of creatures, including a scabby-kneed child romping barefoot through it all. I’d follow butterflies and bees, and play with daddy long legs and roly-poly bugs. In that micro-wilderness, I was permitted to find my feral self.

She encouraged and embodied a sense of wonder and a vivid imagination. Her dining table was covered in scraps of paper, dried flowers, yards of fabric, a sewing machine and so much more .. maybe a freshly made kuchen – cooling on a wire rack. Each Christmas or birthday she’d craft handmade cards from pressed flowers. Wildflowers Press is an homage to that memory.

As my children grew, I wanted to emulate her. I made up stories – The Julie Jellybean Adventures – where a curious girl with the assistance of her grey-haired, flour-dusted grandmother, discovers magic and mystery in the wilds of a suburban backyard. Grandma Jellybean lives on in my memory and in the minds of my own babies, even as they’ve grown into adulthood. She instilled in me a need for a creative and curious life and I’m grateful.

Join me on a journey that started with a tiny seed planted by my very own Grandma Jellybean. I invite you to explore my stories, essays and poetry and to share some of your own.

Grab your trowel (or pen)… it’s time to dig in!