flowers | Deep Agroecology – The Call of the Land

Photo by Liz Wolf

by Steven McFadden
While Deep Agroecology is a serious subject, and also the title of my award-winning book, High Agroecology, on the other hand, is the lighthearted name I am giving to my stupendously tall sunflower.

Over the years I’ve grown many a sunflower, but the specimen in this photograph, taken August 10, 2020, is by far the tallest. I reckon it is 15 feet tall, give or take. The secret? Just a normal application of compost, but extraordinary, all-natural biodynamic compost from Common Good Farm in Raymond, Nebraska. Thank you, Evrett Lundquist and Ruthie Goodfarmer for your compost and for all you do.

Since our county fair is an iffy proposition this year, I took the liberty of awarding myself a blue ribbon, fashioned from a blue t-shirt and a red tomato.

If you are drawn to read this then it’s probable that you are already familiar with the perils of pollen, the aggravations of allergy. Enough about that. But as you reckon with pollen this season — while coronavirus drifts ominously across the land — you may find it strengthening to reflect on the promise pollen signals as an agent of the flowers.

When I was writing Legend of the Rainbow Warriors decades ago, I gained some uncommon insights into the many-petaled mysteries of flowers. My senses were roused through color, form, fragrance, and essence…

…In our time of coronavirus, as we all contend with the pandemic swirling through our lives, it strikes me that many people could benefit from engaging the essence of one flower in particular, borage. Borage can help lift feelings of heavy heartedness, encourage the quality of courage, and generally add a note of buoyancy to the soul.

My full blog post is available now at Mother Earth News.