Growing up in a fairly artistic family and myself, later being involved in technology (the art or work of applying knowledge and techniques), I had always thrown myself at or into most anything I took to interest.
Although I am a guy who loves being outdoors, I am not the outdoors-man so-to-speak, such as a hunter or fisherman (A good tennis match or round of golf is more to my liking, although I did spend ten years of my life planning how to kill the Soviets, usually out-of-doors - never mind that.). I simply love being outside, amongst nature.
Well, plants and landscapes, I have always enjoyed, but I am the person who can walk past something a million times before I take interest, and then, with some attention and thought, the intrigue begins and the epiphany occurs.
Plants, trees, shrubs and flowers are amazing in how they have evolved and what they are capable of.
For most plants, whether it be an evergreen conifer, a flowering annual or a perennial, they have only one thing in mind (literally, more so biologically and chemically) - to reproduce, which predicates almost every event which we observe and makes them such a unique and beautiful part of our landscape and our lives.
There's more. They aren't here for us, but we have incorporated plants into most every aspect of our our lives and even more so for our personal or property environs - in doing so, an entire industry exists for us to do so. That being said, we must care for those plants if we expect for them to be healthy and beautiful in our lawns or around the perimeter of out homes.
They are all works of art, based on science (thanks to Mother Nature), which honestly, makes many of them so "damn amazing".
Beyond much of the beauty of plants is a history, an evolution of adaptation, survival and wanting to make it to the next season and produce the next generation.
This may be why many who know plants see beyond simply their beauty or utility. Does the owner of a productive apple tree have the same love for the tree as the woman who saw the first bloom of her azalea or the wonderful foliage and color of a japanese maple? Who knows?
I believe most people who cherish plants adore them for a variety of reason, at different levels. Proper care is the only remaining factor if you truly, emotionally, love or want that plant to spend the rest of your life or its life with you - inside your home, in your yard or in your favorite plant bed.
Regardless, whether knowing a plant, a shrub or tree (annuals and some perennials, particularly herbaceous ones) by name or not, is not as important as to learning what it can and wants to do in the environment it was given. This is all so important to proper pruning, fertilization (organic or otherwise) and attention to overall health and recognizing and/or preventing disease, blight or improper placement (location).
Someone once said:
Never leave alone, a plant you brought on to your property, for she may not survive the journey to being a healthy part of your landscape without your thoughtful assistance.
I said that. No big whoop.
Doug Ingbretsen
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