Gardening And The Circle Of Life
Nongardeners often tell me that “Gardening must be SO relaxing.”
It can be relaxing.
It can also be extremely stressful.
Because plants, like any living thing, are part of the circle of life. They are born. They live.
They die.
At all different stages.
Some seeds don’t germinate. (I sow extra for this reason.) They die or have died before they sprout.
Some seedlings don’t make it past the first week (or the first month or…). You, as their gardener, could be doing everything right. And they will still die. They simply aren’t viable plants.
Some seedlings die after they’ve been transplanted into the garden. They don’t have the strength to deal with the outside elements.
Or they are eaten by slugs. Or they are attacked by flea beetles. Or hail takes them out. Or…or…or…
In the places where we have winter, almost all of our beloved outside plants die after that first hard frost.
Death is part of gardening. It isn’t a happy part. But it is an unavoidable part.
I mourn the death for a day. Then I plant another seed or transplant another seedling, filling the gap, giving that plant a chance at life.
And the circle of life continues.
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Every Plant Is Different
Last year, I harvested seeds from the sole zinnia plant that survived to seed stage.
(There was NO cross-pollination.)
I started some of those seeds indoors in the same soil putting them under the same growlight. When they were large enough, I moved them to the same bed, caring for them the same way.
They received the same amount of sunlight and water and nutrients.
One plant didn’t survive. One has SIX flowers. One hasn’t flowered at all. Others have one to four flowers per plant.
The largest plant is as tall as my hips. The shortest surviving one barely reaches my ankles.
And their flowers are a variety of colors (each plant only has one color of blooms, however)!
Plants, like humans and other species, are all different. They grow in their own unique ways at their own unique times.
Yes, we can influence that growth. But we can only help so much.
We care for them and let them do their thing.
And we embrace their differences.
(smiles)
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