--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I noticed the plants growing around me…" description: "\"I noticed the plants growing around me. Tall with leaves like arrowheads. Blossoms with three white petals. I knelt down in the water, my fingers diggi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/suzanne-collins-60_digging_i-noticed-the-plants-growing-around-me-t_1298946.jpg" --- # I noticed the plants growing around me. Tall with leaves… ![“I noticed the plants growing around me. Tall with leaves like arrowheads. Blossoms with three white petals. I knelt down in the water, my fingers digging into the soft mud, and I pulled up handfuls of the roots. Small, bluish tubers that don’t look like much but boiled or baked are as good as any…” quote by Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/suzanne-collins-60_digging_i-noticed-the-plants-growing-around-me-t_1298946.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/suzanne-collins-60_digging_i-noticed-the-plants-growing-around-me-t_1298946.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/suzanne-collins-60_digging_i-noticed-the-plants-growing-around-me-t_1298946.jpg) > “I noticed the plants growing around me. Tall with leaves like arrowheads. Blossoms with three white petals. I knelt down in the water, my fingers digging into the soft mud, and I pulled up handfuls of the roots. Small, bluish tubers that don’t look like much but boiled or baked are as good as any potato. “Katniss,” I said aloud. It’s the plant I was named for. And I heard my father’s voice joking, “As long as you can find yourself, you’ll never starve.” [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker discovers a wild, edible plant reminiscent of her namesake, emphasizing self‑reliance and resourcefulness in survival. **In simple terms:** Finding food in nature shows independence. Key Takeaway Learn to use natural resources. Themes survival self‑reliance resourcefulness Mood reflective hopeful practical Type nature survival inspirational When to use this quote - post‑apocalyptic survival - camping - foraging trips Key Concepts foraging wild edibles identity family wisdom Questions to Reflect On - What local plants could sustain you? - How does naming affect your connection to nature? A Different Perspective Reliance on wild plants may be unsafe without knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Digging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digging/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Finding yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finding-yourself/) [Fingers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fingers/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Good Potato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-potato-4259240/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard/) [Katniss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/katniss/) [Katniss Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/katniss-said-4259237/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Mud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mud/) [Noticed Plants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noticed-plants-4259239/) [Petals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/petals/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Plant Named](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant-named-4259238/) [Plants growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plants-growing/) [Potato Katniss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/potato-katniss-4259236/) [Potatoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/potatoes/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) ## Related quotes > [Judging foods without regard to price is a rich mans game, and yet poor people can be gourmets able to discern a good potato…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/judging-foods-without-regard-to-price-is-a-rich-mans-game-and-yet/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [If you were a potato, you would be a good potato.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bubbly/if-you-were-a-potato-you-would-be-a-good-potato/) [Bubbly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bubbly/) > [We can in fact only define a weed, mutatis mutandis, in terms of the well-known definition of dirt - as matter out of place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-james-salisbury/we-can-in-fact-only-define-a-weed-mutatis-mutandis-in-terms-of-the/) [Edward James Salisbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-james-salisbury/) > [“To look after a garden involves a kind of getting to know that is somehow always in process. It entails refining and developing an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-stuart-smith/to-look-after-a-garden-involves-a-kind-of-getting-to-know-that-is/) [Sue Stuart-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-stuart-smith/) > [Poetry deserves the honor it obtains as the eldest offspring of literature, and the fairest. It is the fruitfulness of many plants growing into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/poetry-deserves-the-honor-it-obtains-as-the-eldest-offspring-of/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [“There are people who are generic. They make generic responses and they expect generic answers. They live inside a box and they think people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/there-are-people-who-are-generic-they-make-generic-responses-and-they/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [“fundamental link between our economic and ecological cycles.” And the importance of recharging the soil, to keep the ground covered and get a broader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-d-schwartz/fundamental-link-between-our-economic-and-ecological-cycles-and-the/) [Judith D. Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-d-schwartz/) > [Warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/warmth-is-the-vital-element-for-the-growing-plant-and-for-the-soul-of/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [By having a direct stake and involvement with the process of plants growing, of having your hands in the soil and tending it carefully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monty-don/by-having-a-direct-stake-and-involvement-with-the-process-of-plants/) [Monty Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monty-don/) > [Movement turns dead dogs into maggots and daisies, and flour butter sugar an egg and a tablespoon of milk into Abernethy biscuits, and spermatozoa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-gray/movement-turns-dead-dogs-into-maggots-and-daisies-and-flour-butter/) [Alasdair Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-gray/) > [“I don't believe vegans (or vegetarians) who still get their (packaged, preservative/chemical-ridden) food from industrial food systems have any righteous ground to stand on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-awehali/i-don-t-believe-vegans-or-vegetarians-who-still-get-their-packaged/) [Brian Awehali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-awehali/) > [“She’d been surprised to learn it had a semi-arid climate, with cactus plants growing right beside palm trees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettye-griffin/she-d-been-surprised-to-learn-it-had-a-semi-arid-climate-with-cactus/) [Bettye Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettye-griffin/) > [Our moral faculties must be placed highest, else they can no more flourish than could a plant growing under the shade and drip of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-moral-faculties-must-be-placed-highest-else-they-can-no-more/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Freddy and his brother Tesoro have not seen each other in five years, and they sit at the kitchen table in Freddy's house and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-gonzalez/freddy-and-his-brother-tesoro-have-not-seen-each-other-in-five-years/) [Ray Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-gonzalez/) > [Ultimately, the only wealth that can sustain any community, economy or nation is derived from the photosynthetic process - green plants growing on regenerating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-savory/ultimately-the-only-wealth-that-can-sustain-any-community-economy-or/) [Allan Savory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-savory/) ## More by Suzanne Collins > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [KEEP CALM and HAVE A SUGAR CUBE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/keep-calm-and-have-a-sugar-cube/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [A furious Peeta hammers Haymitch with the atrocity he could become party to, but I can feel Haymitch watching me. This is the moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/a-furious-peeta-hammers-haymitch-with-the-atrocity-he-could-become/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“The same goes for the other captured tributes, Johanna and Enobaria.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/the-same-goes-for-the-other-captured-tributes-johanna-and-enobaria/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [He never lets go of Annie's hand. Not when they walk, not when they eat. I doubt he ever plans to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/he-never-lets-go-of-annie-s-hand-not-when-they-walk-not-when-they-eat/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“I want to interrupt the taping and beg Finnick’s forgiveness for every false thought I’ve ever had about him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-want-to-interrupt-the-taping-and-beg-finnick-s-forgiveness-for/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [I pound on the glass, screaming my head off. Everyone ignores me except for some Capitol attendant who appears behind me and offers me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-pound-on-the-glass-screaming-my-head-off-everyone-ignores-me-except/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Because it doesn't matter anymore, and because I'm so desperately lonely I can't stand it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/because-it-doesn-t-matter-anymore-and-because-i-m-so-desperately/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Then I dive into my tent before I do something stupid like cry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/then-i-dive-into-my-tent-before-i-do-something-stupid-like-cry/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“¡Es que no quiero que me conozcan! ¡Ya me están quitando el futuro! ¡No pueden llevarse también lo que me importaba en el pasado!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/es-que-no-quiero-que-me-conozcan-ya-me-est-n-quitando-el-futuro-no/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“I act delighted, but I have zero interest in these Capitol people. They are only distractions from the food.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-act-delighted-but-i-have-zero-interest-in-these-capitol-people-they/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Mostly we just add to the piles of rainbow glass that's been blown off the exteriors of the cany-colored buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/mostly-we-just-add-to-the-piles-of-rainbow-glass-that-s-been-blown/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [You're punishing him over and over for things that are out of his control. Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't have a fully loaded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/you-re-punishing-him-over-and-over-for-things-that-are-out-of-his/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But the significant difference between Thirteen and the Capitol are the expectations of the populace. Thirteen was used to hardship, wheras in the Capitol,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/but-the-significant-difference-between-thirteen-and-the-capitol-are/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) [Explore all 1,709 Suzanne Collins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) ## More Digging quotes > [Some people are like ants. Give them a warm day and a piece of ground and they start digging. There the similarity ends. Ants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/some-people-are-like-ants-give-them-a-warm-day-and-a-piece-of-ground/) [Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/) > [In a delightful garden, sowing, planting or digging are not hardship but are done with a zeal and a certain pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/in-a-delightful-garden-sowing-planting-or-digging-are-not-hardship/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [In archaeology you uncover the unknown. In diplomacy you cover the known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-archaeology-you-uncover-the-unknown-in-diplomacy-you-cover-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought I knew a lot about music. Then you start digging and the deeper you go, the more there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mellencamp/i-thought-i-knew-a-lot-about-music-then-you-start-digging-and-the/) [John Mellencamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mellencamp/) > [From my image of digging around in the mud like a grunt, I preferred fighting the war from ships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/from-my-image-of-digging-around-in-the-mud-like-a-grunt-i-preferred/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [When you consider the sheer magnitude of investable equities to choose from in the world's emerging markets, you realize that finding one that looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mobius/when-you-consider-the-sheer-magnitude-of-investable-equities-to/) [Mark Mobius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mobius/) > [I love the little garden in the back of my family's brownstone in Brooklyn. Digging out there in the dirt is a joy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-love-the-little-garden-in-the-back-of-my-family-s-brownstone-in/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [ The Ancient One, as you know, is the master, is the Sorcerer Supreme, and \[Doctor\] Strange comes to learn how to heal himself and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tilda-swinton/the-ancient-one-as-you-know-is-the-master-is-the-sorcerer-supreme-and/) [Tilda Swinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tilda-swinton/) > [I wish I lived back in the Old West days, because I'd save up my money for about twenty years so I could buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/i-wish-i-lived-back-in-the-old-west-days-because-i-d-save-up-my-money/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [If you really want to be a good archaeologist, you have to understand ancient DNA; you have to understand chemical analysis to figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-parcak/if-you-really-want-to-be-a-good-archaeologist-you-have-to-understand/) [Sarah Parcak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-parcak/) > [I was a manual labourer. I figured out really early on that the value of my life could be determined by my hourly rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/i-was-a-manual-labourer-i-figured-out-really-early-on-that-the-value/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [Archaeology, I found, comprehended all manner of excitement and achievement. Adventure is coupled with bookish toil. Romantic excursions go hand in hand with scholarly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/archaeology-i-found-comprehended-all-manner-of-excitement-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've never met a girl who thinks like you." "A lot of people tell me that," she said, digging at a cuticle. "But it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-ve-never-met-a-girl-who-thinks-like-you-a-lot-of-people-tell-me/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you don't break a hole through the brick wall, don't just start digging a new hole. Keep going until you break through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-simmons/if-you-don-t-break-a-hole-through-the-brick-wall-don-t-just-start/) [Russell Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-simmons/) > [Keep digging, Flynn. Six feet makes a grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-monk/keep-digging-flynn-six-feet-makes-a-grave/) [Devon Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-monk/) [Browse all 487 Digging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I noticed the plants growing around me. Tall with leaves like arrowheads. Blossoms with three white petals. I knelt down in the water, my fingers digging into the soft mud, and I pulled up handfuls of the roots. Small, bluish tubers that don’t look like much but boiled or baked are as good as any potato. “Katniss,” I said aloud. It’s the plant I was named for. 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