Going underground

There was a time I thought it strange and frightening to bury our loved ones in the earth.  So much dark and heavy.  So much mystery.  So unfriendly.

family gravestone La Tourbeille

I should have remembered my own first plunge into deep earth.  Four years old, imploding with confused fury after an act of injustice, running away blind.  Searing indignation, prickling hot tears, and then a fall into a deep hole.  Later my family found me asleep, wrapped around the trunk and roots of an old oak tree.

roots of the old oak tree
oak roots

Of course my older brothers teased me for decades, via their scathingly pejorative epithet – tree hugger.

Perhaps some justice there, for it’s autumn’s end and our arms are once again overflowing with trees after our annual pilgrimage to the Conservatoire Vegetal Regional d’Aquitaine. The CVRA is one of this region’s genuine godsends. They save and propagate indigenous varieties of fruit trees and bushes, many of which came to the brink of extinction with the arrival of industrialized agriculture. Besides research and conservation, they have a large organic nursery, created along principles of biodiversity and permaculture.

Conservatoire advice: what trees? what rootstock? what conditions?
Conservatoire advice: what trees? what rootstock? what conditions?

At the annual Fête de l’Arbre over 300 volunteers pitch in, many of whom are professionals, offering advice on tree selection and planting.

advice: choose your trees by first tasting the fruit
advice: choose your trees by first tasting the fruit
getting help in the vast  Conservatoire nursery
getting help in the vast Conservatoire nursery

They are everywhere and smiling, in their red aprons and black berets, joined by their children who help wrap the naked roots, and wheelbarrow our trees to the car.

thousands of trees for new homes
thousands of trees for new homes
precious roots
precious roots
girls resting in their wheelbarrows
girls resting in their wheelbarrows

In just two days the CVRA welcomes 7000 tree-planting visitors. I assume this contributes to the happy statistic that there are more trees in France now than in the Middle Ages!

Henri & John planting persimmon
back at home, Henri & John planting persimmon trees
Henri & John planting persimmons
persimmons and apples

So here at Petit Roque, the phone is off the hook, our hands are covered in mud. It’s a time of fingers and knees, shovels and hoes, compost and manure.

setting the roots in a compost filled mound
setting the roots in a compost filled mound
John planting almond tree
another almond tree for the orchard

And as we pat the mounds of soil around the roots, that familiar, overwhelming winter urge takes over.   I want to go underground.

the grotto
source water from the grotto

I see us all nestled under the grotto, cradled in roots and earth, dozing off in the darkness. The only sounds are the water drops from the little stream above, and the yawning of innumerable, tiny root hairs as they stretch themselves out, looking for food, water and a place to call home. They wrap us inside their appendages and incorporate us into their abodes.  Underground we are safe to receive, conceive, germinate, regenerate…

the sound of water droplets in the grotto
the music of water droplets in the grotto

And suddenly I’m yanked back to the surface of the earth.  My hands are muddy and freezing and I regret I’m not a dormant acorn.  Imagine perfect contentment in a long, deep freeze, wrapped in luxurious layers of composting leaves…

the roots mirror the crown...
the oak roots mirror their crown…

A warm sofa near the fireplace will have to do, because we’ve all sworn the winter vow: time for quiet, time for dreaming, time for underground work in whatever creative mode you like.

I count the baby trees with their naked roots newly settling into the earth – almonds, persimmons, apples, cherries, neflier, pomegranates, walnuts, peaches… and content myself with a discreet embrace of their aerial parts.

newly planted allée of almond trees
newly planted allée of almond trees

I also count our good fortune to live among a vast tribe of card carrying, unabashed, tree hugging radicals.

tree lovers at the Fete de l'Arbre
tree lovers at the Fete de l’Arbre

 

If you want to learn more about the Conservatoire: www.conservatoirevegetal.com

Postscript photos…

persimmons from the Conservatoire
persimmons from the Conservatoire
perfect persimmon for dessert last night
persimmon dessert last night
huge copper cauldron of Conservatoire applesauce
huge copper cauldron of Conservatoire applesauce
traditional copper alembic for making eau de vie
traditional copper alembic for making eau de vie from fruit

 

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