Victoria Park Harvesting
On 5th September, we harvested the flax from Victoria Park with the help of some of the Victoria Park Garden team and volunteers. This flax didn’t grow as tall as the Landport flax but instead grew densely.
The weather that day was really warm which meant the soil was like sand, everytime we pulled the flax roots it created a dust cloud. As this was previously a rose bed, one small rose had grown in the middle of the flax which I left undisturbed.
The harvest was captured through a live painting by Steve Dodd, artist and Hotwalls alumni. He used oil paints on canvas at an easel and stood painting for over 2 hours in the blazing hot sun wearing an iconic hat.
Out of all the spaces this one felt the most urban with surrounding high rise buildings of student accommodation and hotels overlooking the gardens, the noise pollution of buses and trains passing nearby. The slow process of harvesting the flax manually in contrast to the fast pace of a city centre where there are fast fashion and fast food outlets felt momentous.
On the 16th October I visited the empty plant bed and found one tiny flax in flower, five months after it had been sown.
Beautiful photographs by Karl Bailey
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