Christie Purifoy is a writer and gardener who loves to grow flowers and community. She is the author of two memoirs, Roots and Sky: A Journey Home in Four Seasons and Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace. A book of essays and photographs called Garden Maker: Growing a Life of Beauty and Wonder with Flowers will be released in January, 2022.

Christie holds a PhD in English Literature but eventually traded the classroom for an old Pennsylvania farmhouse called Maplehurst where she lives with her husband and four children. Today, she teaches workshops and cultivates conversations rooted in Christian faith and the arts locally at the Maplehurst Black Barn in southern Chester County and globally in the online home of the Black Barn Collective.

Christie co-hosts the Out of the Ordinary Books podcast with author Lisa-Jo Baker, where each week these two friends practice the art of conversation rooted in favorite books they pull from their shelves. She also leads an online membership community for gardeners called the Black Barn Garden Club. You can learn more about Christie’s work through her website or connect with her on Instagram, where she further extends the hospitality of Maplehurst through photography.