Dylan Watson-Brawn

The Permanence of Change

When the first rays of warm sun loosen the land from the tight grip of winter, the most resilient plants emerge slowly, tasting sweet and peppery. We can only plan and hope for what the cycle of a new year brings. A cold spring will bring delicate qualities in the first slivers of green. A warmer one causes the first blossoms and sprouts to form on fruit trees. First plum, then cherry, followed by apple, pear, peach, almond, persimmon. Spring rain summons black web capped mushrooms from the forest and meadows. A slowing warming of the soil and a good amount of moisture drives pale white spears of asparagus through the sand.

Every year we are confronted by the changing rhythm of the natural world. We all wait in anticipation for the course the seasons take. Early frost in late autumn may end the growing season but bring sweetness and depth to quinces. A hot and dry summer brings a deep intensity and reduction to the vegetables and vibrant ripeness to stone fruit. While a cool and wet summer gives us crisp freshness and brings golden mushrooms to the forest floor. A long cold winter gives the soil a fresh a year where the garden won’t be as harmed by pests.

We think about each growing season as a different vintage, expressing the geography, the weather, and hand of the gardener. Each thing that grows is ever so special to that moment in time. We accept the change and embrace both it and its gifts. In the way relationships change with time, or how old friends can feel like new beginnings. The only thing permanent to us is the change.


Words Dylan Watson-Brawn
Photography Staffan Sundström