The Oasis Food Forest

At the Plants & Poetry Journal, we plant a seed of vegetation or a tree for every submission we receive. For the Fifth Issue: October, one of our themes is the word “labor.” At the Plants & Poetry House, we were discussing what the word “labor,” means to us. What happens when we add “shared,” to the beginning of it.

What if we were to think of this labor as shared energy. An exchange. This is where the Forest Farming initiative was born. Right at our own homes. The Oasis is a group of friends tending their lands with every intention of providing and nourishing one another with the harvest. So here we are - in Bella Vista, AR, transforming a few acres into a Forest Farm in order to sustain a handful of families and teach you what we have learned along the way.

Our team has begun a Forest Farming initiative in Bella Vista, AR. Leslie Walker, steward at Plants & Poetry House, is building an oasis of oak trees, hibiscus shrubs, pear trees, squash, tomatoes, mushrooms, fungi, vines, strawberries, wild flowers, a variety of herbs from arugula, oregano, mint, shrubs, and other vegetation. We have cataloged over 50+ species in the food forest. A mosaic of edible and medicinal plants. We use forest botanical products for floral decoratives and live plants for the nursery landscaping. We also utilize and harvest the organs of trees: roots, tubers, leaves, bark, twigs and branches, the fruit, sap and resin, as well as the wood.

This space harnesses sustainable growing methods and ancestral knowledge like prayer, rituals, and seed saving after harvest. We welcome you on a virtual exploration or at our in-person tours.

Watch the full poem video about the food forest here.