Plant Care

Plant Care
by Rodger Stevens

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.
–Emerson

Our language is often duplicitous: the same old word can mean different things, like the ‘bark’ of a dog or a dogwood (if a dogwood bark). Sometimes the use of a certain word for different things can tell us a lot about how we regard those things.

Consider the lowly nursery … a place for small plants, and also a place for small people. In the interests of economy and making a buck, plants in a nursery are treated identically: standard soil, standard pots, standard light and food and space … in short, standard treatment. They are coerced into patterns of uniform (one shape) behavior without much regard for their individual gifts, because the nursery would never make any money if each plant were reared according to its own needs and strengths.

Occasionally, there arise particularly spirited seedlings who insist on following their own genetic instructions instead of those of the nursery. These renegades are nipped in the bud at the earliest signs of individuality, and if they still refuse to conform to their trainers’ wishes, they are thrown onto the rubbish heap to fend for themselves. The conforming masses, praised for their docility, suffer a life of frustration from not being allowed their own nature. A daisy was born to be a daisy, not a rose. When it tries (or worse, is forced to try) to be a rose, it not only fails to be a rose, but fails to be a daisy as well. This is a lousy deal for all concerned, especially those precious little plants.

Indeed, the greatest of our race have always been those who had the inner strength to withstand all efforts to mold them into more standardized shapes. Their persistence in following their own rhythms resulted in an insistance to be unique, and out of that uniqueness were born all the blessings they brought to the rest of us. It’s not easy to be who you are, especially if the whole world is pressuring you to be something else. This is especially true for our youngest brothers and sisters, who are so easily nullified by thoughtlessness and rough handling.

What about the small plants in your care? There was never before one of these, and never will be again. Don’t let the dull-witted forces of economics and entrenched bureaucracy erase whatever makes your little plants different. Hybrids lack the innate charm, resilience, and health of originals, and are usually sterile.

Take these thoughts to heart. Life’s Gardener is wielding a huge spade these days, turning over new ground for a garden whose theme is not the mass production of identical clones, but rather the celebration of unique varieties dancing in community. Biodiversity always works–monocultures never. If you are overseeing a nursery, even if there’s only one little one growing there, everything you do matters.

Celebrate your little plants, learn from them, help them to be who and what they were born to be. Such a profound opportunity comes only once in their lives.