It’s ridiculous how great we have it here on the central coast of California when it comes to local food. The farmers market this morning was brimming with enormous strawberries. I kid you not, these berries were so big there were a dozen per pint container. There were several varieties of mandarin oranges, including my favorite, the Ojai pixie, and little gem lettuce as far as the eye could see. (It appears to be the year of the little gem.) There’s always an incredible array of produce in season.
I couldn’t help thinking that all the winter rain we had is coming back to us in the form of delicious food. And flowers: The deserts are abloom as I type this, beckoning visitors from near and far. Gardens are going gangbusters, plant sales are happening, and people are preparing garden beds. The Southern California coast and deserts are among the first places in the West for planting season to arrive, but by the time you read this, your own neighborhood may be blossoming, too. The seasons continue to turn, even if they are turning differently than they once did.
Growing things requires paying attention to the weather, an awareness of how light moves across the land, some understanding of different types of soil, an affinity for leaves and blooms and roots and shoots and bulbs. It is a compact with the Earth and the atmosphere: That if we plant wisely, the planet will supply the conditions for good growth. In recent years, the idea of planting native varieties has become popular, because plants that evolved to thrive in local conditions are more likely to succeed and spread without choking out other vegetation. The fact that more people are gardening with native plants, rather than exotic ones, seems like a good thing. But the proliferation and commodification of native seeds and seedlings can have negative impacts on the Indigenous communities that have stewarded these plants over millennia and continue to use them for food and medicine, as Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton writes in “The complex case of growing native plants.”
Boyanton’s story kicks off a months-long High Country News series, “Gardening with Agency.” Some of these stories will appear in print, while others will be published exclusively online. Join us as we look at the ways that gardening has become more political, more complex, more communal, and also more joyous. Thank you for reaping the stories we sow.
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