Bountiful Summer 2030

 

Photo by FitNish Media on Unsplash

After the disastrous no-deal Brexit of early 2021 that disrupted imports and caused an alarming spike in food costs, our Parish Council took emergency measures to improve local food security.  The village has always had a strong community spirit, so there were many willing hands to help transform every inch of available land into productive community organic gardens.

A decade ago, the view from our house was of Parish Council-owned land, mostly laid to closely-mown grass but fringed with lime, birch, and apple trees. Two deep rows of mixed daffodils between the trees, a patch left unmown for bee orchids, and an out-of-control hedge of brambles completed the picture. It was peaceful, green but lacking in biodiversity, and little used.

Today, I join other villagers to weed, tidy, and harvest the bounty from the community garden. From the start, we constructed a method of rainwater capture and distribution so that supplementary watering is necessary only in the driest periods. Careful husbandry and good weather have produced heavy crops this year. As key-holder, I open the gate and with my friends enter the garden under its protective dome of wire. In this place of beauty and sanctuary, the colours and scents have, on many occasions, almost overwhelmed my senses.

Monitoring by the GP surgery and the Conservation Society show, beyond doubt, the impact of the garden over the last decade: improved health and wellbeing of the village population, and a significant increase in small mammals, birds, invertebrates, reptiles, and amphibians.  We move along the rows, stooping, stretching and selecting to fill our trugs, baskets and trays with fruits ripened in the benign summer weather, then move on to the vegetables and herbs:

Glossy blackberries, plump blueberries, and flawless cherries;

Greengages sweeter-than-honey, and weighty Bramleys;

Tongue-tingling gooseberries and furry-skinned peaches;

Fragrant strawberries and bitter-sweet raspberries;

And the pink stems of rhubarb in oxalic-tinged leaves.

Spiky artichokes and silken-skin aubergines;

Aromatic basil and earthy beetroot;

Sinuous beans and tender-stem broccoli;

Crinkled cabbages and slender young carrots;

Curvaceous caulis and crunchy celery;

A trio of herbs: chervil, chives, coriander,

planted beside Cos, courgettes and cucumbers;

Delicious dill, fragrant fennel, pungent garlic,

run-away mint and vibrant nasturtiums;

Jersey Royals and New potatoes, onions,

oregano, pak choi and radishes;

zesty rocket, twinned rosemary and sage, 

and the final glut of sorrel, spinach, spring onions,

tarragon, tomatoes, and thyme. 

Customers for our produce are gathering outside the garden. I open the gate and welcome them in with my customary cry of “come buy, come buy”.

Barbara Grafton