A Plant-iful Day
This post is simply an ode to plants, and the beauty and abundance they bring to our every-day lives. As you may know, I love plants. I love to grow and buy them. I especially love to eat them. Yesterday was such a plant-filled day, it left me feeling so excited about life! The day offered up endless examples of the true power of plants. They really are so good for our brains and bodies. Read on for some ways to inject this greeny goodness into your own day. 🙂
Buy Plants.
The day started off with a trip to my local farmer’s market. Here in Kelowna, May is marked by the start of our outdoor market. Yesterday was the first Saturday market in its typical summer location. It looked a little different, what with that little pandemic thing happening. I was afraid it would feel different: customers are encouraged to “shop, don’t stop” and not to gather. As I’m sure anyone will reading this who attends their local farmer’s market can attest: this is very, very difficult. Gathering and stopping to chat is part of the essence of a market! >.<
But, I needn’t have worried. To begin, there was more vendors than I expected and they all had something green to offer! My favourite farms and people were back:
I was able to have a conversation with Lenny from Little Schack and learned that because of the recent goings-on, their CSA memberships have skyrocketed this season. I was met with smiles from vendors and market personnel – well, I think they were smiling. Everyone was wearing masks! And had we not had to physically-distance ourselves, I may have accosted Scott from Everything Wild with a bear hug for having such an abundant array of wild edible plants for sale. Just look at that bag of nettles!!!
Morel of the story: buy local plants, as soon as they come into season where you are. Connect with your local farmers, talk to them, hear what they have to say. They do such incredible work to keep us nourished!
Plant Plants.
Better still than simply buying plants from plant-planting people is to get out there and plant some plants yourself. Anyone with a garden, a pot of soil, or a handful of seeds will understand this. We’re seeing myriad articles published now about the endless benefits of planting food: self-reliance, mental wellness, physical health, etc etc. But for many people, access to garden space is limited, which is why volunteering on a farm can be such a good solution! That’s what I did yesterday at Helen’s Acres in Kelowna.
Helen’s Acres is this lovely little patch of farm plots all nestled against Mission Creek, surrounded by fruit trees and wild shrubs. From the road, it is hard to tell how much life is bursting in this one area and if you continue driving past, you’re quickly in mall-central. To turn off the main drag and immediately become surrounded by green is a pleasant shock to the senses.
Providing Plants for the People
The Central Okanagan Community Farm Society, now operating under the Okanagan Fruit Tree Project, works a plot of land at Helen’s Acres, donating all of the farm produce to the Central Okanagan Community Food Bank and other important community organizations They were soliciting volunteers to help plant lettuce and mulch rows and so, following my trip to the farmer’s market, I partook in some planting efforts.
It was incredible: what looked to be an uncertain morning cleared right up and we were treated to fresh, blue skies with wispy, white clouds streaking along. Volunteers chatted away about how they were managing during this time of weirdness and plants were planted. I even got to plant two rows of beans using a really sweet seed planter.
(Oh, and fun fact: the farm saves all of these plastic pots and reuses them the following season – zero waste!)
In a normal year, food banks and other access points for fresh produce are so, incredibly important for our underserved communities. With pandemic times setting in, their role in communities is vital. By growing more fresh food, we keep the flow of necessary nutrition going. My heart was warmed seeing so many wonderful souls out there digging in the dirt, planting food that will one day nourish so many people.
Morel of the story: it is exceedingly difficult to be mad at anything or harbour any resentments when you look around and see nothing but new life emerging from freshly tilled soil. Likewise, it is impossible to maintain feelings of anxiety when you’re actively participating in future-proofing food security for a whole sector of a community. If you’re feeling down, go find a farm and volunteer for them. I’m betting you’ll feel better afterwards. (and who knows? you might make some feathered friends in the process :))
Look At Them.
This one feels easy but again, access to nature looks different for everyone! The point is to get out in nature and revel in its glory. Yesterday I delivered some eggs to a friend in the next town over from Kelowna and it gave me the opportunity to explore (from the safety of my car) a new-to-me area.
The landscape was stunning. Here in the Okanagan, springtime is marked by the fruit trees bursting forth with endless, fragrant blooms and hillsides covered in Arrowleaf Balsamroot, otherwise known as the “Okanagan Sunflower.” The road I traveled down yesterday was windy, hugging the shoreline of Lake Okanagan, so I went slow and enjoyed the journey. Bikers were peddling up ridiculous hills, people were walking their dogs, and the lake was a deep, shimmery blue. Even from my car I could feel nature stretching and shaking out her finest, spring garb and it was lovely.
Morel of the story: Get out there and look at a plant in the flesh. Marvel at its ability to return, year after year. Is that not the definition of persistence?
Eat Them.
Of course, after a full day of buying, planting, and looking at plants, you will probably be hungry. Solution? Eat them! For me, this looked like a box of plant-a-licious takeout from my favourite vegan restaurant, and a dinner chock full of homemade plant goodness. Those tacos pictured were topped with some of that beautiful, fresh spinach I bought earlier in the day!
The beauty of filling our bodies with plant nourishment is that they receive it with grace. I don’t know about you, but when I eat a pile of plants, I feel full and satisfied. I also feel light at the same time. Who else feels like that?!
Morel of the story: I’m not here to tell you what to eat. But, eating more plants sure does feel good for the body and the mind. Go ahead, buy some local plants and then eat ’em!
The cumulative result of this day is that I went to bed with a buzzing brain. With what? I’m not sure. Excitement? Wonder? Eagerness to remember, taste, and smell the beauty of this wondrous Saturday? Probably. Whatever it was, I liked it. So here’s to more plants in our own lives – however you get them in there, do it!
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