Seed Pods and New Life in the New Year – How to Save Money In The Garden
This year has ended. Father Time has lived his life and is old, wrinkled, and ready for a long sleep. Similar to Father Time, a seedpod like the one above appears in your garden as a brown, wrinkled thing of death, yet this seed pod – yawning its beak as if it is a primordial bird – is actually the giver of life. Seeds drop from these ugly husks and often in the Spring I see baby seedlings sprouting below the pod head.
I stopped using excessive fertilizers and chemicals in the garden, which many modern-day garden centers would have me believe is the curse of death, and I started layering composted products on top of the soil. If the plant is fertile, I leave the old stems and seed pods up through the winter, reserving clean-up for early spring. By then the pods have been tossed by nature. Seeds have exploded out of them and been frozen and thawed dozens of times in winter strong hands. My garden thrives naturally now – more dependent on the ebb and flow of nature and less dependent on artificial means.
When spring’s warmth finally arrives, I am surprised at the tiny plant baby’s being born all over my garden ready to celebrate their new life and the year of their birth. Something that never happened when I cleaned my garden every season, vacuuming the litter to keep up appearances for others. Now I let things go a little more naturally and have discovered the garden rewards me tenfold. I faithfully dig up the seedlings and give them to my garden friends or maybe leave a seedling right where it is – in the middle of a path, growing in a sidewalk crack, or sprouting somewhere completely unexpected. Because it was meant to be.
it is so peaceful and wonderful to go with the flow of the garden and let nature weave her course…lovely thoughts in this new year as our lives will sprout forth many new baby plants unexpectedly!!!
“Go with the flow” – that's a great description as that's what it has really become in my garden. I'm not as anxious to clean it all into perfection – accepting that imperfection is really what Mother Nature intended!
Shawna
That was lovely. Thank you … and happiest of new years!
Happy New Year to you Rick – and all of you – – I'm so glad you are a part of my life.
Shawna
Happy New Year. Hope 2011 is even more fruitful. Keep up the good work.
I've learned to allow seeds to fall as they may. Happy new year!
congrats to you shawna lee for being named 1 of the top ten gardening blogs by p. allen smith! no pressure now girlfreind!
I loved this post, Shawna! I never really understood what the big deal about growing 'green' was personally, because its really common sense. Why would I waste money to buy chemicals when its much easier to re-use organic matter from my own garden? I also prefer to leave things in an untouched state until spring, and I let any seedlings and offsets of my plants pop up when they feeli like it! I have a bunch of agapanthus seedlings that sprouted naturally after the tilting seedpods deposited them on the moist ground. Nature is such a miracle!
Thanks friends!
YEP – it just seems like common sense. Being sustainable isn't some crazy 70's hippy idea – it's a common sense plan to save money and be happier with less. Can't beat that!
Shawna