I had some broad beans that were several years past their “plant-by” date. They were old seeds - were they alive, could they sprout? Just add water?
I put them between moist paper towels and waited.
Sprouting broad bean (Vicia faba, also known as faba or fava bean) on moist paper towel.
Alive! There is something rather miraculous about the sprouting of seeds - especially in this case, rather dried up beans.
Planted gently…
Still alive! The wonder of the tiny leaves emerging through the soil. What a thrill!
Emerging broad bean seedling, breaking through the dark soil.
Not quite the creature from the black swamp, but there is something primeval about the emerging leaflets - the surge of life, the source of the life we all depend on. There’s a world of wonder in nature’s most basic things.
And I’m struck by how much we tend to overlook the world of plants all around us - to the point where plants are treated as some kind of background green-ness. Yet we are utterly dependent on plants - we can’t afford to take their wellbeing for granted.