A Little Bit Of Feral

It takes a certain amount of discipline to let go, to let nature be in charge of a lot of the decision making in a garden. That is not what I was trained for in horticulture, nor what I do in most of the gardens I tend. Total control is the preference for most.

It is rarely completely achieved. Nature has a mind of its own. Even in my roadside vegetable garden, a little bit of feral has remained.

I like it that way. Out of long ago planted and long time gone verbena on a stick, a surprise bumper crop of purple appeared in the vegetable garden this year. The parsnips growing with it are close to equally feral.

I have had to assert some authority with the Ironweed. Its height makes it a sun hog and shadow maker, not good for the production of fine produce. Trying to remove it gave me a good understanding of the origins of its common name. It is persistent in returning from bits of remaining root and its beauty prevents a push for total elimination.

I consider myself lucky to come home to a place, to land where I can let go, a place where nature is merely nudged in the direction of flowers. The illusion of being in control is allowed to be shown for the falsehood it is. The reward is a continuous and ever changing display of the beauty and bounty of the miracle of this planet called earth.