Leah McMichael⎮Harrison Center Dungeon Gardener

There are few things Leah McMichael likes more than plants and hooded cloaks, so she’s already thriving in her role as Dungeon Gardener. 

Aboveground, Leah is a novelist, editor, and keeper of chickens. She’s spent the last seven years researching and writing about saints in  4th century Anatolia. The first chapter of her novel, The Sun in Slender Glass, will be published this year in the literary journal Image. She’s a friend and frequent collaborator with ceramicist Becca Ito, and her storytelling has appeared in Becca’s Harrison Center shows “In This Sign” and “For The Love Of.”

In the eerie pink light of the Dungeon Garden, Leah hunts and tends plants that can survive the cold dampness of Moria. Though some have described the space as post-apocalyptic, she’s leaning into the “enchanted cave” vibe—the falling waters and the grace of koi complemented by a jungle’s lushness and a few shelves of salad greens. Maybe even mushrooms! Watch this space—if you dare.