A Turning
This month, I read Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille Dungy, a rich memoir about gardening, race, history, and Colorado. The book inspired me in so many ways; Dungy lives in Fort Collins and grows some of the same plants in her garden. She also allows plants to go to seed for the myriad animals, birds, and insects that feast on what we grow even when we are ready (or pressured) to dispose of them for the sake of aesthetics. She is a poet and writes lyrically about the deep interconnections of our world and how they influence each other.
This month was largely spent on seed collecting. The peppers and tomatoes are ripening on the plants covered by the maple tree’s shade. Small ping pong ball-sized onions (purple and white) were harvested, and two small heads of broccoli are forming. My hope is that with the onset of cooler weather, they do not bolt, and we can enjoy broccoli for the first time since moving to Colorado.