I had a rather nasty accident at work last week. I’ll spare you the details, save to say that it was with a log splitter and could have been so much worse. My little finger, the pinkie if you will, is sore and scraped but thankfully still attached.
It wasn’t a catastrophe but it could have been; the whole thing served as a warning against complacency. I stopped paying attention for a moment and I nearly paid the price. Complacency can have serious effects- just ask the owner of my local saw mill, a man who can count to nine and a half on his fingers- or even cause fatalities.
Laugh if you will but this small accident, coupled with the tumultuous year, has made me rather introspective. I find myself wondering what I want from life, asking whether I’m actually happy. The garden is a wise place. Indeed plants are wise beyond understanding; theirs is a brutal world, with countless reasons why they should fail and only one why they should succeed: survival.
Trees survive and are often impressive
I’m fascinated by a question: we know from our own experience that certain plants can become conquerors, some come to dominate ecosystems, but why after millennia of existence and evolution are we not left with a handful of dominant species?
The answer is both very easy and very complex; for all its savagery and heartlessness the struggle of natural things isn’t a fight for dominance but a fight for survival. A tree might well grow tall and dominate the ground below it, curtailing the growth of plants below, but it doesn’t do that out of malice but because it’s a tree. Species seldom naturally dominate to the exclusion of all others, and others exploit niches admirably.
Many plants exploit unlikely niches
We often look at them through very human eyes. Indeed we have no choice for we are people and must do so. We find comfort and meaning seeing plants as we see other people: good and bad, happy and sad, weak and strong. In truth plants are just plants doing what plants do.
I wonder if there’s a philosophy hidden in our borders, a message hidden in plain sight? We flock to see mighty trees that impress and also intimidate us, yet it’s the ethereal herbaceous plants we prefer near our homes. Shrubs stand stoically through the year and face the seasons, yet most of them do their thing then just stand idly there like a minor part in a theatre production. There are plants that are boisterous and there are those that are shy and retiring, whose charm we must gently coax out with patience.
Unlikely friends together
The whole of humanity, its triumphs and foibles, is echoing in the world around us. Plants brought together through unlikely associations but growing well together, plants dominating while others thrive against the odds. We can choose to see the interactions between plants as a battle royale, or just see things as everyone finding their own little niche. It’s probably not an infallible way to view the world, likening people to trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants and bulbs, but I’m drawn to the idea if only for my own amusement.
In a world of thorny weeds I’m proud to share my world with some beautiful flowers.
Introspective originally appeared on GardenRant on January 13, 2025.
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