what does vetch mean?

 "Ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leas / Of wheat, rye, barley, vetches, oats and pease"

---William Shakespeare, The Tempest

so. what does vetch mean?

vetch is a type of legume. its scientific genus is vicia and vicia americana (american vetch) grows natively across the northeastern US and west of the mississippi. it is a climbing vine that grows pretty purple flowers on it, and its great for restoring nitrogen to soil.

why do I care?

years ago, i fell down an internet rabbit hole and found the french republican calendar. according to wikipedia, it was created during the french revolution, it was an attempt to reorganize time itself. twelve 30-day months, ten-day weeks, and a complete renaming of the calendar as it had been known. every single day was named after a plant, animal, or tool.

when i came across this, the first date i looked for was, of course, my birthday. the word i ended up finding was vesce - french for vetch (okay, technically, the day before my birthday).

that word stuck with me... partly because it’s close to my name, partly because it felt right. familiar, unassuming, and unknowingly specific. the kind of thing you don’t notice... until you do.

when it came time to name this project, it didn't take much for me to circle back to this fun little vegetal and unique word that i felt represented my work as much as it represents me.

below, i’ve included a table of the full french republican calendar. i couldn’t find one laid out in a way i wanted, so i made it myself. i hope you enjoy looking through it as much as i do.

cheers!

- gretchen darche

founder, vetch