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Sunflower is what you plant when you’re done fighting nature and ready to partner with it.

~Jay Drysdale

Dear Reader

On Wednesday, the land and gardens hummed not only from our bee friends but from the mindful tending of many hands. A joyful team got an early start as late summer projects were ticked off the list in preparation for two open days for the Gemmo Forest and our family gardens. There were mowers mowing, loppers lopping, and snippers snipping and so much happy chatter. It was heartwarming to experience.

The first event is today, Saturday afternoon, when we will join with eight farms around the Monadnock region to open to the public for the annual Farm Tour. With the support of several dedicated volunteers, tours will run from 12-5 pm. Then on Tuesday, NOFA New Hampshire will host a summer field day on site, and we will share our passion for permanent growing beds and polyculture planting with area farmers.

Welcoming others into what we have cultivated in collaboration with this land is as important as what we produce. In fact, inspiration is the most valuable gift we can share. I have, however, come to understand that taking in the sight of our many growing spaces can be overwhelming for newcomers. In recognition of that, I have taken on a new and now treasured role of orienteer. I find that folks adapt best in our front gardens. They tend to be a bit more tame. Eyes can gently roam and begin to discover several familiar concepts: flower beds, scarecrow, beds of oats, clover pathways. Context is at the heart of a regulated nervous system, and even in beautiful landscapes, a challenged system can be overwhelmed and tip out of balance. And the sad truth is that most visitors arrive in our space from a very dysregulated collective energy. So taking a moment to pause and breathe is always in order before I share anything about principles that have guided our work.

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Some context is required to come to the realization that you’ve stepped inside a complete ecosystem of which you are not an outsider but an integral part. This is true coherence, and once experienced, the body will quickly remember that coherence is what has been missing. I use the word coherence to describe the sense-making of many parts that allows the bigger plan to come into view, whether in personal lives or in farms and gardens. A dysregulated nervous system cannot begin to see the whole; instead, it filters everything through a reductionist lens, sorting what appears safe vs. a threat. So extending cues of safety and inviting curiosity is my first responsibility. I’d love for our guests to learn that our projects all were created with minimal soil disturbance, include a variety of polyculture plantings, and do not include outside amendments, but that may not be what they need to hear.

Sometimes it's easier to grasp that each and every plant in the gardens and Gemmo Forest has a purpose, just like each has a unique purpose in its community. When considering plants, we recognize that each one is either building the soil, nurturing pollinators, or producing a form of food or medicine for consumption, and some plants do it all; they are super contributors, stepping into their full power with our gentle support. One fine example is the sunflowers we grow. Started in soil blocks in early May and planted just inside the fence line the first week of June, they form a stunning and welcoming border. I’ve watched and cheered them along for eight solid weeks, deterring mama deer who was tempted, and I was rewarded in late July with the first bloom. Now, in mid-August, it's showtime, and more and more join the party every day.

I’ve always loved sunflowers; how could you not? But it wasn’t until recent years that I discovered the multifaceted support they offer.

Sunflowers are actually a perfect first planting on transitioned soil, as their 6-foot-long taproot breaks up existing hardpan. It would be my first choice to use as a cover crop if I were transitioning a field that had been tilled over the years. We have no shortage of bees on our property, but sunflower also brings in its own crowd of native solitary bees and provides a steady source of nectar right through the first killing frost.

Above ground, right in plain sight, sunflowers actually provide an invisible chemical barrier. As leaves grow and stalks naturally decompose, they release chlorogenic and quinic acids into the surrounding soil. These acids act as an herbicide that suppresses uninvited plants from germinating within the sunflower’s perimeter. In reality, sunflowers sanitize their own territory and keep trespassers out not with a physical struggle, but by simply changing the environment. They are wise pacifists.

All that being said, I believe sunflowers' superpower is that they read the room and respond accordingly. They know how and when to loosen up the soil, who to tend and nurture… pollinators, and they know where to draw the line…uninvited guests. And you know what? It is not too late to plant sunflowers, even in the northeast.

I’ll be keeping the sunflowers in my line of vision these next few days, hoping they provide a continual reminder to keep a read on the pulse of our many visitors. What is the kindest and most compassionate offering I might extend? Maybe it's nothing more than, I am so glad you are here today, because that would be absolutely true.

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​Energies I will be noting in the week ahead:

Saturday 15 August: Mercury conjuncts with Jupiter, and I am expecting it to be a time of mental inspiration with big, expansive ideas. I'll also be looking to have the conversation that sparks the potential of abundance.

Monday, 17 August, the Sun begins its transit through Gate 29, the gate of perseverance, seeing things through and saying yes. I'll be observing myself as I consider the question, How can I flow on through the dark?

Until next week,

Follow the Sun August 17-August 28

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