There is also a notion of anxiousness as we wait, watch, and wonder what the 2014 growing season has in store for us. Will spring be late or early, wet or dry, hot or cold, or a hybrid of all the above? We don’t get to choose the conditions, nor can we return the weather that doesn’t fit our needs on a particular day.
So what can we count on? From our perspective, we are going to do our best on re-energizing our values. Working to bring some stability to an assortment of all the ‘uncontrollables’ we know we’ll encounter this year. Not to say we don’t look forward to trying new plants, or approaches, but now with the benefit of additional birthdays we’ve come to accept that about the only thing we can impact is how to improve upon what we value and the application of some stability into the properties and places entrusted to us.
We’ve found it’s more of a lifestyle than a definition. For example, our family farm was located in Western Nebraska, a quarter mile south of the Sioux County line. With only nine to twelve inches of annual rainfall, our livelihood was reliant upon the availability and allocation of water. The locals could always spot an out of town judge at the County Fair simply by how they got a drink of water from the hydrant outside the arena. As kids, we were taught to place our glass under the hydrant, fill the glass slightly below the top, turn the hydrant off – leaving the glass in place to catch the remaining drops and drink the entire glass. In turn, a visitor generally turned the hydrant on, checked to see if the water was cool, placed the glass under blasting pressure, allowed the water to overflow the glass, drank two-thirds of the water, tossed the rest on the ground and then turned the hydrant off. An example of a distinctive difference in approach, to a very simple act.
Our challenge as a company in 2014 is to do better in our approach of simple acts, making a collective difference on how we impact what’s been given us.
Wow! Can you believe the winds we’ve had so far in January? It seems almost every other day we’re faced with persistent and severe high winds. Oftentimes when people are asked why they don’t spend more time outdoors, two basic comments surface:
1. It’s too windy…
2. It’s too hot…
The above two remarks reminds those of us in the profession that we need to do a better job creating habitat that contributes to simple comforts. While we can’t control weather conditions, we certainly can have impact on how the conditions affect us.
Remember the adage: “one doesn’t purchase a drill, they buy a hole.” When it comes to Habitat, we don’t purchase tree, evergreen, pergola, wall or allée. Rather, we buy protection, comfort, shelter and refuge. We look for relief from the harshness of all the climatic conditions we encounter and evaluate our choices in how we desire to interact with all the conditions in play.
Development of Habitat is purposeful. Our summons for 2014 is to be more purposeful in designing and developing outdoor Habitats that encourage more interactions with nature. Places, close at hand, that invite us into the outdoors sooner, more often, and for longer periods of time in lieu of all our climactic extremes. Working towards a call to interact with comfortable, outdoor spaces that reconnect us all with our own Human Nature.
Many years ago we had the distinct pleasure to listen to a presentation by Alex Shigo, The Father of Modern Arboriculture, on all the misperceptions that exist on how trees grow in conjunction with their care. One comment he offered during his presentation that stuck was “Everything in life should become as simple as possible and no simpler.”
No clue why during a “tree talk” that became the take away of the day, but even with time it hasn’t become any easier in practice. In 2014 when a “simple, yet no simpler” solution presents itself we will only hope we have the wisdom and insight to recognize and pursue it.
There are community gardens as well as community concerts. Communities get organized and come together in support of specific grass root causes. We are joyful as a community in times of celebration and tearful together in times of sadness. We know the value of all the interconnections that come from and are created by community. The wisdom of the ages reminds us time and time again- that we “reap what we sow.” Such a perspective couldn’t be more horticultural when it comes to our own community engagement. Like the iconic sculpture that sits a top our State Capitol, may we all become better Sowers in our communities in 2014.
Exciting! New plants in the garden! But wait....now what? How much water? When? Quick considerations before watering: Sun & Shade - Although most may say that shade gardens need less...
Corey Brabec, Head of Horticulture What’s the first thing you do when you get to work? I usually start my day by checking all of the paperwork that was turned in the day before. I...