The Verdant Gnome

05/05/2026

Thank you so much for your support 💚

Creation Is Where Judgment Dissolves No Right Or Wrong Just Truth Moving Through Us, Guided By Heart And A Quiet Touch Of The Divine.

10/21/2025

It’s finally here. My first book, Call Me on the Tree Phone, is now available on Amazon.

This book has been over 20 years in the making — part memoir, part myth, part prayer — a story about grief, truth, and becoming.

If you’ve ever walked through the fire and come out remembering who you are, this one’s for you. I started out wanted to write a gardening book which quickly morphed into something different, it is written in poetic voice that grew directly from the garden of my soul.

I am honored to share this with everyone and look forward to continuing to write and develop my voice as an author to connect with our community in new ways.

Follow the link. Or search Call me on the tree phone book or Matthew Sabellico on Amazon to purchase.

https://a.co/d/0TTLQm2

08/22/2025

As Chair of the Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board, I stand here with gratitude for the work we do together. This board isn’t just about reviewing parcels or maps—it’s about shaping the story of who we are as a community, and who we will be for generations to come.

Every time I sit at the table with this board, every time I walk a farm field with a landowner, or hear from our neighbors about their hopes and challenges, I am reminded of something simple and profound: agriculture is not just business. It is not just land use. It is culture. It is life. It is legacy.

And I’ll tell you—this work has inspired me. It has lit a spark in me to go further, to invest even more deeply in local agriculture. Because through this board, I have seen the resources, the knowledge, and the partnerships that can bring about real change. And I’ve realized: we already hold the tools in our hands. The question is how boldly we use them.

Here’s what I believe: if we want to build a resilient future, we have to start close to home. We must protect our farmland, yes—but more than that, we must create conditions where our farmers can grow food for the people right here, in our own towns and villages. When we strengthen local agricultural economies, we keep our resources close, we build food security, and we empower our communities.

This is not just conservation. This is creation—of stability, of dignity, of a future that doesn’t have to look outward first to distant economic centers, but instead grows from the soil beneath our feet outward to the world.

When we invest first in our own communities, we create something enduring. We leave a legacy not of scarcity and fragility, but of abundance and resilience. A legacy where our children inherit not only land, but also the lived memory of what it means to belong to a community that takes care of itself.

This is the vision I carry with me now. And it is because of this board, and the work we’ve done together, that I believe we can achieve it. Together we can protect, renew, and expand our agricultural roots—so that this county remains not just a place where farms exist, but a place where farming thrives.

08/15/2025

“The garden is in full voice right now—every stem, petal, and leaf singing in the key of August. The air hums with color, the beds overflow with joy, and the sun seems to linger just to watch. This is the season of abundance, when beauty doesn’t whisper—it shouts.”

08/07/2025

We followed the water.
From the roar of the falls to the hush of the Great Lake’s ancient shore.
From the breath of Niagara to the still pulse of Ontario.

Here, barefoot on the edge of Lake Ontario,
I did not arrive as a casual passerby—
but as one who came to be cleansed.
Not by ritual, but by presence.
Not to pray, but to let the waters wash what no longer belongs.

The grief, the noise, the names I no longer answer to—
they dissolved in the lake-light of now.

This wasn’t just a journey of sight.
It was a pilgrimage of return.
And the mist that touched us on the Maid of the Mist—
that was no ordinary water.
That was the veil parting.
That was the threshold crossing.
That was a baptism into the world before the world we know today.

Open your heart, and the land speaks.
Open your mind, and the great waters teach you.
Open your spirit, and you will remember who you’ve always been.

I remembered that I am not lost.
I am not broken.
I am becoming.
And I am already home.

07/31/2025

Ten Years of Becoming — With my Sacred Flame

Ten years ago, beneath a super blue moon, I married my best friend, my soul’s counterpart, the one who saw me before I ever knew how to be seen.
Since then, we’ve walked through fire and rain, laughter and heartbreak, raising our girls in the soil of truth and unconditional love.

Tiffani, you are the Sacred Flame—
“the one who returned the sun when the garden had gone cold.”
You offer tough love when I’m drifting, comfort when I collapse, and a mirror that reflects who I truly am, not who the world tried to make me.

This union was never about perfection.
It was about devotion.
And devotion—real, raw, soul-deep—has carried us to this moment.

A decade in, we’ve grown respect as deep as our love, and love as wide as the infinite space between everything and nothing.
You’ve ignited something eternal in me.
I stand in my truth, hand in yours, more in love with you now than I ever thought possible.

Here’s to the next ten.
To the wild, the sacred, the becoming.
To us.

I love you.
Now. Always. And in all the lifetimes to come.

07/25/2025

Most people know me as Matthew Sabellico from Sabellico Greenhouses.
But there’s more to me than the name on the sign.

I’m a father, husband, artist, writer, drummer, and spiritual practitioner.
I’ve walked through fire, grief, and transformation—and chosen to plant again anyway.

What’s emerging now is something deeper:
A new offering, rooted in land and truth.
A place where abundance grows not just from soil, but from soul.

This is just the beginning.
The full story is coming soon.

07/19/2025

Before the World Wakes

Before the world stirs, I walk the orchard.

Each morning for the past three weeks, I’ve risen with the mist, greeted the land with bare steps and open palms, and listened. Not just for the sound of birdsong or wind through the brush, but for something older. Something calling. And I’ve answered—with hands, with heart, with the seeds of becoming.

What began as a quiet harvest of a nearly forgotten crop has become a communion. Blueberries, yes—but also joy. Story. Breath. Presence.

Family, friends, and new acquaintances -turned-volunteers have joined me, not just to gather fruit, but to greet the sun, speak to the soil, and feel themselves rooted in something real. Some days, the only reply I received was from the emus. Other times, it was a neighbor’s wave or a cardinal landing on my shoulder, whispering, “You are not alone.”

We’ve only scratched the surface of what this land can offer, but even so—it has given more than enough. Laughter in the brambles. Silence before sunrise. Purpose in our footsteps.

I am walking in my truth now.

Each early morning, each shared moment in this orchard, affirms the calling I’ve carried quietly for too long. These are the seeds of The Abundance Project taking root—not just as a vision, but as a living, breathing truth. One I am ready to speak aloud.

We’re not just harvesting berries.

We’re harvesting memory.
Harvesting connection.
Harvesting the proof that even when we think we’re starting from nothing—we’re standing on everything.

Thank you to everyone who has helped bring this dream into the light. I feel you beside me in every row.

—Matthew

05/15/2025

This morning was full of laughter, dirt, and purpose as we planted beauty at Sparrow’s Nest! Grateful for the joy of working with such an incredible team and growing something meaningful together.
Keep watching—Krista and I have some big plans sprouting for the future, and trust us… you’ll want to be part of what’s coming next.