The meeting room at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library was nearly filled to overflowing when John Forti came into the room to begin his hour-long presentation on the theme of heirloom plants. But Forti’s talk was so much more than merely discussing the virtues of growing plants that have a history, a connection to our collective past – it was a meditation on gardening as an extension of our humanity.
Forti’s accomplishments in the world of gardening have centered on traditional plants and planting methods including those handed down to early settlers by indigenous people. He has held the positions of executive director of Bedrock Gardens in Lee, New Hampshire, director of horticulture at Plimouth Plantation, as well as director of horticulture for the Massachusetts Horticulture Society, the oldest such society in the nation. In recent years, Forti has co-founded a movement called Slow Food (seacoast division), an international grassroots organization founded in 1989 to help ensure the presence of local food cultures and traditions.
Forti spoke of the importance of traditional plants and cultivation process in reverential tones that added soul to the topic. He talked about the need to maintain “homespun growing philosophies in a world with ever-increasing industrial food production …. Heirlooms hold and keep the past.”
The author, garden historian, and ethnobotanist said he spent his childhood surrounded by nature and all the wonders of a boy growing up free to roam. Clearly those early experiences instilled in Forti a love of all things natural and all things growing.
Addressing the audience directly, Forti suggested that they try looking through their gardens for edible weeds for everything from concocting cordials to salad ingredients. He said that our elders understood the medicinal qualities of wild plants long before modern pharmacological industries were developed, and that those same plants are still available if only we look. He also suggested that by growing these types of heirloom plants, our gardens would be more diverse and an improved habitat for birds, bees, and butterflies.
“Sowing creates a sense of place,” Forti believes. “In a garden, we can disconnect from devices and connect to the earth, the plants.” He spoke of rescuing lady slippers when land developers were clearing lands, a move he called “environmental stewardship.” He also told the sad tale of a neighborhood apple tree centuries-old that was cut down to make way for construction. A hapless, careless act to his way of thinking.
Turning to the audience again, Forti asked, “Who formed your love of plants?” Many said it was their mother; others said their grandparents. Clearly, the point made was one of traditions being passed down through familial generations and the need to continue to do so. “Kids know fewer than 10 plants in their backyard but can recognize hundreds of corporate logos.”
Calling on his knowledge of ancient planting schemes, Forti said that early settlers learned how to cultivate plants in New England from the first people populating the area, and that the now well-known “three sisters,” corn, squash, beans, planted together created a whole food group. But he said they also learned about foraging the local woodlands for mushrooms, berries, sumac, purslane, and fiddleheads.
Forti reminded all that we were subjected to post-WWII eating habits – canned and frozen vegetables over fresh homegrown produce. “Can you imagine eating canned spinach today?!” He said his work includes helping communities build up heirloom gardening practices. He also said we should support local farmers by shopping at farmers’ markets. On a bright note, Forti said that there has been a renaissance for such markets with some 20,000 now throughout the country.
Again and again throughout his talk, Forti gently guided the group toward thinking more broadly about what to grow in their own yards – not the how, but the why. He called being a gardener a “tonic of wildness” and “an instrument of grace.” One felt thoroughly that “wild” and “grace” were exactly the best ways to describe the feeling of watching one’s planting efforts bloom over a growing season and then become seed for the next generation.
Forti’s book published in June is titled, “The Heirloom Gardener: Traditional Plants and Skills for the Modern World.” His appearance in Mattapoisett was sponsored by a partnership of the Library Trust’s Purrington Lecture Series and the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club.
Mattapoisett Free Public Library
By Marilou Newell