My daughter rescued a crab-tree seedling from her ex mother in law a few years ago (the woman ordered a seedling from The Arbor Day Foundation, then went to throw it out!!), so I planted this tiny little stick in the back yard by the woods.He's about 8 feet tall and thriving.
I live in a town-home, and I'm mostly what one might call an urban farmer. My children have to go with me to the farm or hardware stores, because plants will call out to me if they want to come home with me, and I can't resist them. Case in point, I rescued a jade plant a couple of months ago from Lowes's discount plant shelves. He's growing and happy on my back deck at the moment.
I have tomatoes in laundry tubs on my back deck, herbs are planted where I have some space both in pots and in the ground. I have two blackberry bushes, a blueberry bush, and strawberry plants in a space in the back yard. I planted chocolate mint , spearmint and two different kinds of lavender in the very back yard near the woods. Yes, I am aware that mint is invasive, but we have an agreement that they be polite to their neighbors, and so far, they have lived up to their end of the agreement- the peppermint hasn't agreed, so he's still in a pot. Some wild strawberry showed up on its own, and it's behaved nicely as well. I have Greek oregano, lemon thyme and sage out front. Everyone gets along nicely, and I love all of them.
I got all excited a couple of months ago when my heirloom seeds from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange showed up, and I went a little overboard. OK, a lot overboard. I threw a bunch of seeds into those little planters for seedlings, expecting one or two to actually take root (and I should have known better). Other than the woad (which didn't take at all), every single seed took root into each container. They thrived. Now, for many of us, that is exciting. Except I wasn't ready for that many plants to take root.
When I realized I was going to need more space, I asked my youngest son to till up some of the back yard for these little seedlings, and he did so without delay. Unfortunately, the rains kept coming all week and I wasn't able to get outside to plant the seedlings until yesterday. Well, mostly that's true. Some of it was sheer laziness on my part as well.
Yesterday, the guilt overtook me. We went to the hardware store, and I purchased organic soil (the kind that's actually organic and good for the environment). I was all set to get these little guys into the ground. What I didn't realize when I began planting, was that there weren't just a few seedlings. In one (1 inch wide) container, there were at least 40 seedlings trapped together and root-bound. And, there were four containers, with four sections each.
My neighbor used to own a farm. She is 67 now, and her husband passed away about 15 years ago. She advised that I just take the heartiest of the seedlings and let the others go. But, I couldn't.
I believe strongly that if I am part of the creation of a life, it is my responsibility to care for that life. I made that agreement the minute I put seed to soil. So, I spent hours dividing up the seedlings and planting them into the soil to ensure they all had the best chance of survival. The ants and spiders kept coming around to check on my progress, and I assume from their reaction, all was in order. The crows sneaked in from the woods to see what I was doing as well, and they cawed their approval. That was a relief.
I felt a lot better once these babies were in the ground, but I also had a bout of self-loathing. I knew better than to do this. I could see the seedlings were struggling to survive, and that I should get out there and do something for them. So, I beat myself up a little, apologized to the plants and to The Mystery, and promised that I would do better in the future.
My responsibilities are far from over. It will be my job to check on their progress, make sure they have enough water, and that they have the best chance of achieving their destiny. It's the same thing with any life we choose to assist, whether it's human, plant, animal or spirit.
Nurture complements Nature. As an animist, I know that all living things have a spirit, and communicate, even if we humans don't understand their language. I'm certain they were attempting to get my attention every time I went out there. My sense of relief is overwhelming at the moment. And, as a green-thumbed witch, I solemnly promise next year to be much more responsible with my enthusiasm.
Well, I'll try, anyway.
P.S. Here's a video of plants singing. I just love this!