A very long time ago a very good friend of mine and I were hiking through the high deserts of Northern Arizona, just outside of Winslow.  He is a lover of plants, like I am, and our conversation had naturally turned to plants.  Our discussion of the moment was leaning toward those plants that moved from one place to another in our gardens. 

“If you watch your plants and listen to them, they will tell you what they need and where they should go.” He said.  “Look at that sagebrush over there.”  As we loomed over the sagebrush he pointed to the ground around it’s base and said, “see, it makes it’s own mulch, the leaves fall to the ground and branches grow in such a way to trap them around it.  It doesn’t need a lot of water and you don’t need to give it a lot of water because it traps the water it needs under that mulch.”  “just like a cactus expands to hold the water it needs and if you over water it, it will pop and die.”

While I love my plants I never really payed such attention to them.  I placed them where I wanted them, watered and fertalized (organically) them and would get frustated when they would die anyway.  Wondering always if it was because I was working organically and not doing it right.  What was really happening was that I was not “listening to my garden.”  Those plants that would self sow and come up five feet from where I really wanted them to be were only moving to a better place in the garden.  Maybe not better for my “plan”, but better for their survival. 

So, rather than go on and on here (which I could easily do), I want to leave you with this.  If you “listen” to your garden and do what it asks you, you will see huge success, beautiful flowers and more produce.  Your plants produce EVERYTHING they need and will create the environments they need to survive (if you are growing natives, non natives have a hard time adapting to new climates).  You will do less work and you will have happier plants. If they want to pick up and move, let them.  Relax and enjoy nature.

Photo Source:  by khenigar via Flickr Creative Commons