Our Research Notes series invites authors to describe their process for a recent book, with “research” defined as broadly as they like. This week, C.J. Washington writes about Imperfect Lives from Little A.

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I am a writer but not a gardener. I love plants, and I am the worst kind of caretaker for them. With the best of intentions, I’ve killed many houseplants, the only consolation being that some seemed relieved to perish and escape my care. Unable to raise thriving plants in real life, I had to research how a fictional character would manage it.

Cindy, one of the main characters in my novel Imperfect Lives, creates a sanctuary in her backyard, a space where she can labor and relax and surround herself with beautiful vegetation. She cares about the local ecosystem and prioritizes native plants that nourish wildlife, such as goats beard, shooting star, and wild quinine, which she cultivates for the striking white of their flowers and as part of her campaign to attract bats to take up residence in her backyard. The research for her garden served as a bit of a sanctuary for me also. Imperfect Lives tells the story of two strangers whose lives are thrust into turmoil when a contract killer makes a deathbed confession. It deals with mortality, loss, and, yes, murder. The time I spent researching plants was a reprieve from the darker themes I researched: contract killings, non-lethal weapons, and the Great Recession.

Even better, much of the research took the form of field trips, getting me away from the computer and out into fresh air. I visited the Georgia Native Plant Initiative and learned the role backyard gardens can play in supporting local biodiversity. I toured the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and observed the amazing artistry and extensive range of landscaping. Staying faithful to Cindy’s values, I paid special attention to the flora relied upon by pollinators: snakeroot and thistle for butterflies, honeysuckle and azaleas for hummingbirds, black willow and buttonbush for wild bees. I learned more than I could use in the novel, but this sort of research fulfills something in me.

During the early days of the pandemic, I stumbled upon the concept of aquaponics, a habitat for fish and plants, where the waste products of the fish are recycled to nourish the plants. The elegance and sustainability of the system appealed to the nascent ecologist and horticulturist within me. I spent several days researching the practice and telling my wife that, when we moved from our condo to a house, we would need to make sure we had space in the yard for a tank. She would humor me with a nod, probably hoping quietly that I would move on to something else before I risked becoming a killer of fish as well as plants. I even considered purchasing one of the miniature systems, suitable for guppies, herb plants, and condo living.

Luckily, once I learned all I could, I moved on to something else before I could do real-world damage. I am much more likely to write about a character who does aquaponics than I am to ever own my own system. And that’s okay. Researching it and then writing it quenches my fanciful desire to do it myself, thereby saving me (and all living things involved) from doing it badly.

Learning always has its own rewards. I doubt it makes me a more interesting companion, but when I’m hiking and my gaze settles on the forest floor and the inevitable ferns tucked beneath the shade, I can differentiate the Navy Star Cloak from the Manta Winged Autumn. And when I do, forevermore, I will think of Cindy.

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C.J. Washington is a data scientist and writer. He has a master’s degree in computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife and daughter.