I Am The Plot and The Plot is Me
Nourishment writing prompt
When I think of nourishment I think of my vegetable plot. I think of the reciprocal relationship we have. I think the plot is me and I am the plot.
I think of the chunky, reeking garlic bulbs I just lifted from the dry soil.
Of the drooping potato plants I just showered with water.
Of the tiny yellow flowers on my tomatoes that made me smile.
I think of being outside in the autumn, the air crisp and the sleeves of my woolly jumper pushed up above my elbows. I think of hair in my face and dirt on my hands. Thick, black soil I spend the rest of the week picking out from under my broken nails. I think of being outside in the winter, just the leeks and the cabbages left standing in the hard, frozen ground. I think of planting in the spring, fuelled with hope and grand plans. And I think of summer, of failures and successes, of the pure joy of harvesting something you grew yourself.
My plot is not a lot — but it is mine. It is my shrine to the world, to Mother Nature. It is what I put back in.
Wildflowers for the pollinators, a small pond, grasses left to reach dizzying heights, poppies that spring up all over the place just like the wild foxgloves do. My garden has a mind of its own. It’s a tiny eco system teeming with life.
Ancient trees surround — blocking us in, sheltering us, creating shade and chittering with birdsong. I added the two apples, the pear, the plums and the cherry. Bored of weeding useless gravel, I filled it in with shrubs and flowers, let a meandering path wind around and among them.
I found a wild rose growing down from a huge sycamore — a remnant perhaps of old cottage life when a different house stood here — I took a clipping, brought it to life and now it cascades over a broken archway (because I am surrounded by old, broken things) bursting with cream coloured roses. I planted the honeysuckle and the jasmine.
I am nourished by my plot — I am made better by it. I am more me, and better connected to the earth I stand on. When I provide for the plot, the plot provides for me. When I nourish the plot, the plot nourishes me and around and around we go, hopefully forever, until one day, I too, am part of the plot, part of the earth, returned.
