The following appeared in the Spring 2005 issue of Permaculture Activist, an issue devoted to "Learning from Our Mistakes," in a sidebar associated with the article, 'The Roots of Healing.'

Friday gardening with pre-schoolers at the Little French School in Eugene, Oregon, would often conclude with sending the children home with horticultural tidbits and a hand-written/illustrated note for parents.

On this particular Friday, the children went home with four sunflower seeds, a pot of dirt, a blank label and a two-sided flyer. On one side were instructions for planting seeds. On the reverse, an announcement that we hoped would plant another kind of seed.

HELIANTHUS (sunflower) HOMEWORK!

Je plante mes graines! I am planting my seeds!

Ma graine deviendra une fleur! My seed will become a flower!

Mon tournesol sera tres beau! My sunflower will be very beautiful!

In Greek, “helios” means sun, and “anthos” means flower, thus Sunflower. What better name for a plant that turns its face to the sun as it passes - hence its french name, ‘tournesol.’

The Sunflower is one of the very few food plants we eat that is originally indigenous to the United States. Evidence suggests that Native Americans were cultivating sunflowers in the Four Corners area of the southwestern U.S. about 3,000 B.C. Now cultivated around the world for food, oil, fuel and fiber, the sunflower plant and seeds played a central role in Native American life. Various tribes ascribed medical and magical powers to the flower and its seeds which were used extensively in ceremonies. There are some indigenous legends that describe the sunflower as one and the same as the Sun God. This seed was collected from the Corvallis garden of Dr. Alan Kapuler, former research director for Seeds of Change.

“Ah sunflower, weary of time,
Who counted the steps of the Sun,
Seeking after that sweet golden clime,
Where the travellers’ journey is done.”
- William Blake

Planting Your Sunflowers!

When we began seeding with the children just a few weeks ago, the results were hilariously messy (seeds were lost, dropped, planted every which way). Germination rates were patchy, as a result. But we have been learning well and the children are acquiring a primary skill. Please let your child show you how we seed. You may wish to place the seeds in the palm of their hand once they have made holes in the dirt. The wooden plant label is for decorating.

FREE SEED!
ALL WELCOME!

Community Seedswap and give-away
Saturday, March 20th, 10.00 AM–12.00 PM
Maitreya eco-village, NW corner of Almaden and Broadway, Eugene, OR

To paraphrase Wendell Berry, we can have agriculture only within nature, and culture within agriculture: “At certain points these systems have to conform with one another or destroy one another.”

Gardening is, fundamentally, a healing art. The garden is simply the visible root archetype in which authentic health is grounded and from which it flows. And so, as deep gardeners, we look to cultures that enjoy a reverential and sustainable approach to gardening culture to see what works for them. Are there lessons there that might work for us, too?

In many indigenous cultures, seed is a defining presence at the heart of local custom and culture. It is a ‘focal point’ for nurturing activities, for engaging, literally, in the reciprocal dance between human culture and the ‘green’ culture which sustains and enlivens both our inner and outer world. The seed is treated with the utmost dignity and respect and is considered an integral part of the whole community.

Attitudes to seed are regarded as underpinning the health of all; what it is to nurture. Those who nurture are themselves nurtured.

Often, new seed is incorporated into the family through rituals. Both the family and the seed become part of a “trial” or a “more intimate knowing”—a new seed variety takes several seasons and brings with it no guarantee that the seed will stay. Perhaps the sunflower seed coming home today will choose to stay with you. Seed planting presents a wonderful opportunity to hold these thoughts in mind.

In cultures typified by mutual caring, the sharing of seed (as you might expect) is redolent with meaning. Seed swaps and seed giveaways are seen not only as strengthening seed culture, but as critical to nurturing and rekindling intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic relations. They are regarded as one of the highest expressions of the gift of life to itself.

Please feel free to join us for the Eugene Permaculture Guild Spring seed swap. Feel free to bring seed and/or live plants and root divisions. Feel free to come completely empty-handed. All is free.

Subscriptions to Permaculture Activist are $24 for four issues - one year.