growing plants in the garden

You may or may not be aware that plants, like most living things, typically require very little to grow. Inside a plant's cells are its marching orders--how to become what it is genetically programmed to become--and march they do. If a plant has soil, water, and sunlight, it stands a good chance of growing. But with just a bit more effort, a plant will not only survive, it will grow, thrive, and even flourish. Plants, like all living things, want to be their best. And it takes so little effort by the gardener.

To start, plants need soil that has nutrients and minerals that will encourage root growth. The nutrients should be the right mix for the type of plant--that is, a gardener wouldn't give too much nitrogen to a tomato plant, because nitrogen is responsible for green growth--a good thing if the gardener is growing grass or corn, but not so good if he wants red tomatoes. The nitrogen will encourage large, lush tomato plants, but not the desired fruit.

Plants also need soil that is a mix of sand, clay, and organic matter so that as water is applied to the soil, it can percolate down through the various particles of sand, clay, and organic matter, drawing oxygen to the roots of the plant, as well as distributing the nutrients and minerals that the plant needs to thrive. As the organic matter decomposes, it provides the necessary air pockets to move water and oxygen to the roots. Some plants, like those found in marshy areas, thrive with wet feet, but soggy soil will quickly kill a squash plant.

Plants also need the correct amount of water based on the individual needs of that plant. Too much water will drown one plant's roots and kill it, but that same amount may be perfect for another plant. The amount of water for a lush, healthy fern is vastly different than the amount of water for a cactus or other succulent.

Plants have different sunlight requirements. A clump of russian sage will thrive in a hot, dry, sunny area but the because of the large surface area of a its leaves, a hosta in that hot, dry, sunny area would quickly wilt and die.

And while many plants appreciate a mulch around their roots to hold moisture in the soil in the heat of August and to protect them from the freezing spells of January, some plants will fail to blossom if their roots are too deep in the soil or are covered with mulch.

The point is that with almost no care from a gardener, a plant can grow. Seeds dropped from the mouths of birds that land in a place with adequate soil, sunlight, and water, can sprout and grow into seedlings, and depending on the conditions in which they are planted, may eventually become mighty trees that withstand everything nature throws their way--high winds, ice storms, or intense heat.

With just a bit of effort--water, nutrient-rich soil, and sunlight--a garden can flourish. A gardener might like the combination of red, white, and blue blossums and find plants with similar requirements like red geraniums with white petunias and blue gerbina. Or, gardeners who prefer perennials, might plant entire beds with grasses, clumping plants, and every variety of leaf, color, blossom, and scent, that will take root in the first year, grow the second year, and thrive the third year and ever after. It takes very little effort to fill a bed with annuals that a gardener can enjoy for a season or perennials that may last forever.

But if a gardener wants his plants to flourish, he will need to invest a bit more--research into the needs of each plant so that each one is planted in an area that provides the proper intensity of sunlight, the right nutrients, the correct amount of water. The gardener must be aware if a plant's needs are not being met and respond to that observation--whether it means transplanting a plant that has inadequate light or one that exhibits signs of excessive water. And if one gardener neglects his garden, perhaps another gardener can rescue the ailing plants, recognize their needs, respond to them, and save them from certain death.

Plants can fail, survive, or thrive--or with just a bit of attention to their individual needs, they can flourish to become a living source of joy, a blessing even, in the gardener's world. It is much easier to move a seedling that was planted in a place where it will grow roots into the sidewalk or limbs into the power lines, then to try to move a full-size tree or prune its branches away from wires or its roots away from the sidewalk. It would be better still to understand the tree enough to plant it in a place where it can set down roots, grow strong and tall, and become a source of shade or fruit--thereby allowing it to become what it is genetically meant to become.

And so it is with children. They can fail, survive, thrive, or flourish depending on whether or not their individual needs are met. Most children, in spite of--or because of--the adults in their lives, will survive. With slightly more than a minimum amount of care, many children will thrive. But the children who will flourish are the ones who are cared for by adults who recognize their individual needs and respond to those needs. The adults in their lives do not try to make them survive in a hot, dry environment if they are a child who needs a dark, moist tropical forest floor to be what they are genetically programmed to become. The adults in the lives of children who flourish provide enough, but not too much, of the nutrients and minerals, sun and water, soil, mulch, and space that each child needs to flourish and become a joy to all in the garden, even the world. The adults in the lives of children who flourish care for each child in the way that each child needs, not in the way that is easiest or most convenient or the way that the adult would have it--each child's needs are recognized and willingly, lovingly met.

Sadly, some children are never given enough of their basic needs. They fail to thrive. They are planted in the wrong place and their emotional growth is stunted. These children receive enough of the basics to stay alive, but receive none of the little bit of additional nurturing, the little bit of additional attention, the little bit of additional recognition of their unique nature that would have helped them grow into healthy, flourishing adults. While their lives can be tragic, there is still hope. Just as a gardener can rescue an abandoned plant and give it what it needs to grow, adult children can recognize the developmental areas that were lacking in their formative years and work to restore the balance that their lives need. Just as a large tree may need pruning to avoid contact with power lines, adults may need help making changes that will allow growth in their lives. But oh, how much easier it is to develop that balance in a child instead of waiting to correct it in an adult. How much easier it is to lay down solid roots that grow deep into the soil and hold firm in big wind. How much easier it is to know and accept your potential--who you are and what you are capable of--and know that you can achieve it. That is when children and adults--and plants--flourish.