Circling back to the soil
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Isn’t it funny how life moves in circles?
From giant orbiting planets to tiny dung beetles rolling their balls of dung beneath the light of a full moon. From the potter’s wheel that crafted the ceramic mug in my hand to the great water cycles that created the conditions for the ground beans and boiling water in my steaming cup of coffee.
These circles, these cycles of life, are what keep the world in balance.
And when present enough and attuned to our own personal experiences, we can observe the cyclical nature of things in our own lives.
Pulling beets in the veg patch. Photo by Alex Sedgmond.
Learning to grow
My journey of growing vegetables began when I moved back home during the first lockdown, guided by my late father, my gardening mentor. After he passed away, I continued to maintain his raised beds and cultivate vegetables while living at home with Mum.
It was a poignant life lesson in cultivation, continuation, and the cycle of life.
Over the seasons, my knowledge, passion and confidence in gardening gradually grew. But all this seemed a bit removed from my creative work in the design studio.
Harvesting crops with Julia Bethan, my partner in crime. Photos by Alex Sedgmond.
Designing the layout of the Innovative Farmers Field Journal in Adobe InDesign.
Last year Soil Association, one of the biggest UK-based organisations dedicated to organic and sustainable farming, got in touch.
They were in need of a designer to help create their Innovative Farmers Field Journal, a printed showcase of independent farmers around the UK who are pushing the boundaries of sustainable agricultural practices.
Naturally, I took up the challenge, eager to get stuck into a project, especially as it felt so relevant for this time of year in the veg growing season.
I moved between the allotment, immersed in plants, insects, and soil—pulling beets, watering corn, nurturing seedlings—and the design studio, crafting layouts, grids, and playful illustrations with dirt still beneath my fingernails.
This became an incredibly enriching chapter of my life, where my creative practice and veg growing felt deeply intertwined for the first time.
I planted corn, squash and beans (known as the Three Sisters) as a tribute to my dad. Photo credit: Alex Sedgmond.
Planting The Three Sisters: A tribute to Dad
Halfway through the project, my family scattered my Dad’s ashes in the garden, on the anniversary of his passing. Each of us chose a spot of personal significance: the shade of a gnarly old oak, the roots of a Scot’s pine sapling, and the sea of bluebells that grew in the dappled light of the woodland floor.
I chose to scatter Dad’s ashes in one of the raised beds where I had planted a circle of corn. With time, the kernels grew into seedlings, and the seedlings flourished into a robust, healthy circular crop of sweetcorn.
I planted runner beans at the base of each cornstalk, following a native North American planting practice known as The Three Sisters. These beans intertwined around the sweetcorn plants, forming a symbiotic relationship with the squash that I also planted.
"I scattered Dad’s ashes in one of the raised beds, where I planted a circle of corn."
By autumn, the Field Journal will be designed, printed, and distributed around the country. And here at home, we will have a harvest of beans, sweetcorn, and squash amongst an array of other veg to enjoy from dad's allotment.
I know he would be proud.
Today I’ve written about some of the recurring themes currently present in my life - from my creative design work to the continuation of my dad out in the allotment. Now I invite you to take a moment to reflect on the cyclical nature of things in your own life.
Is anything in your life currently moving in circles? What themes, experiences, or patterns keep resurfacing?
As always, feel free to drop me a line. Your messages of note are always welcome.
