New Shoots and Putting Down Roots

The views from the roof have continued to change and develop over the intervening months since I last wrote. I’d like to tell you a little bit about the project we had growing on the roof over the summer. A very dedicated Matt planted some seeds in a pot with the hope of having a good harvest of herbs. As the summer progressed we went out and watered them and watched them grow and take over the pot. There were basil and chives, coriander and parsley. All grew and flourished in the pots – it was very exciting.

Then the building work came, as did our times away. We left the plants to survive on their own and some did better than others. I also forgot about them until recently, when I went back out on the roof to find out how they’d done.

After a few short weeks, one plant stood tall and proud over all the others. Its green leaves were a sight amongst the brown and yellow. A success – we’d grown a plant successfully. Surely this is a good thing for The Community – our big achievement!

Now, this is an interesting point to reach. Are we celebrating our genuine achievement or looking for the best of a less than successful mission? I’ll leave you to work that out. It’s sometimes important to look for both those things in any given situation. A little more detail to the tale is that plants take time and love and care to grow in the ways you want them to. And, in the case of herbs, they’re best celebrated when they appear in our cooking (as much of the coriander did). Our herbs looked lovely and lasted for a while. We hope to do better next year, when there are twice as many of us to care for them and more time to focus on The Community. I’m already looking forward to the next harvest but I think I’ll leave this years plants where they are for now. It is a challenge and a joy we’ve yet to have full success with.

The time has come to confess the plant which stands over all the others – and the keen-eyed amongst you may have already spotted it. We successfully and proudly, by sheer accident, grew a good crop of nettles. Nettle tea anyone? I’ll let you pick them!