GREETINGS ON YOUR FINAL FLOWER DELIVERY OF THE SEASON,

THE SIGNS OF DEATH are all around us. Greens are turning to reds, yellows, oranges and browns. What started as seed, then opened to stem and leaf, and then to flower, is now giving way to ripening seeds which will be sent to the winds with hopes of starting over again next spring. This cycle of birth, growth and death is as natural as the baby who becomes the child who becomes the teenager who becomes the adult who becomes the elder and then dies. So why do we hold on so tightly? Why do we resist the falling…the dying…the inevitable change?

IT MAKES ME THINK OF YOUR FLOWER BOUQUETS and how they inevitably drop, or droop, or turn brown, slimy and smelly. This Saturday at Harvest Fest I talked to the Olunds from Brimson, flower-growing Experts in my book, and learned a new technique for getting a few more days of vase life from my flowers. Immediately after cutting the flowers they go in warm/hot water for an hour and then get transferred to cold water. This helps hydrate them. It was exciting to learn this as it seems like the short vase life on my bouquets is still an issue. I’ll definitely be giving this a try.

YET, EVEN AS I CONTINUE TO LEARN WAYS TO PRESERVE the beauty of your bouquets one or two days longer, I don’t want to forget to leave room for death to have its day. Sometimes I leave my bouquets a few days after their apparent beauty has gone. It’s uncomfortable for me. I like things neater than this, but it’s a good exercise for me in letting go and seeing beauty in more than the obvious.

IT HAS BEEN A PRIVILEGE TO SHARE A BIT OF Common Place Farm with you this season. Do take good care.

IN COMMUNITY WITH YOU, PAULA, THE FLOWER LADY

GREETINGS FOLKS,

ALL MY TALK ABOUT THE VIRTUES OF LOCAL can be seen in action at the 14th Annual Harvest Festival this Saturday, September 8th. Join 5000-10,000 others at Bayfront Festival Park from 9-4pm (rain or shine!) to celebrate in the abundance of the harvest. I may be bias, but I do believe it is one of the region’s best events of the summer. Where else will you find such good will in such abundance? Where else can you be surrounded by the faces of those who grew the very tomatoes, peppers, onions and cilantro you’ll mix up into salsa that very night and enjoy with loved ones on the deck as the sun is setting… or the potatoes and garlic you’ll tuck away for a cool fall evening when you’ll add some butter, milk and mashing?

BUY IT UP! BE EXTRAVAGANT! And don’t worry about the price, even if it is more than you’d pay at the grocery store. For those of you who are gardeners, can you really imagine, after all the time, effort, and love you put into growing your tomatoes, selling them for only $.89/lb (or whatever crazy-low price they sell them for at Cub these days)? We’ve become accustomed to cheap food…a relic of a time when fuel was cheap as well. Your grandchildren will thank you for paying the extra dollar now to support a more sustainable way of using the land rather than passing on the costs to them. And be glad for the blemish or two on your apple, or the bug on your flowers. There are birds and bees alive somewhere thanks to the farmer who didn’t use chemicals on it.

THEN GO FIND THE ARTS AND CRAFTS, demonstrations and exhibits…check out the folks doing renewable energy work, listen to some good music, and have a yummy lunch. And don’t forget to talk to the folks behind the tables. The wisdom contained there will astound you!

I WILL BE AT THE FARMER’S MARKET. Come find me and say hello. Around this time of the year your “flower lady” becomes “pickle lady,” canning 100 (or so) quarts of “Darlene’s Dills.” I’ll be selling them, as well as some flowers. Hope to see you there!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK, PAULA, THE FLOWER LADY

HELLO FLOWER SHARE MEMBERS,

JUST THREE SHORT YEARS AGO there was significant debate about whether global warming was actually real or not, and whether humans were in part responsible. For many of us that was absurd to wonder, even then. But now, even the skeptics are on board. The undeniable fact is that the choices we have made as human beings, and continue to make, about the way we use and abuse the earth, are having a profound impact on our environment and the environment we will be leaving our future generations. Personally, I fear our choices might kill us. How could this be happening? I refuse to believe it is because we just don’t care. I also refuse to believe that we aren’t smart enough to figure out how to save what we love. So what’s the problem? I believe it is due in part to the increased volume and velocity of our modern life.

DAILY WE ARE INUNDATED WITH A VAST AMOUNT information and options, coming at a speed that leaves little time to do anything but try to not trip over ourselves and each other. We live in reaction to all the stimuli we are subjected to. Our intellect seems to race ahead of our heart. We come up with a lot of ideas, fast! We have too much information coming at us too quickly to assimilate it in a way that honors our deepest longings.

WE NEED TO SPEND TIME AS A CULTURE, as communities, as families, as couples, getting in touch with what we care about, truly. We need to ask whether the latest thing or activity is good for us. We have to slow down and learn, like Georgia O’Keefe did with her paintings, to take out what isn’t necessary. Truth and beauty both require the practice of patience and saying “no.” Nothing will change for the better until we do this. We need to ask: What is enough?

CONSTRAINT IS JUST NOT SOMETHING AMERICANS are used to anymore. We simply get what we want when we want it, without a second thought. Barbara Kingsolver, in her book Small Wonders, asks the profoundly un-American question “How deeply can fulfillment blossom from a cultivated ground of restraint?”

WE NEED TIME TO THINK, TO LEARN, to get to know each other. We need to be brave enough to step aside from all that is offered to us, to see what quietly stands at the edges. I believe the right choice is available. It will take all that we have to live inside that beautiful truth.

NEW TO YOUR BOUQUETS THIS WEEK is the Rudbeckia hirta/Black-Eyed Susan, Celosia argentea cristata/ Cramers’ Rose, with its velvety texture and interesting shape, and Ammi visnaga/ Green Mist (False Queen Anne’s Lace), with the greenish white feathery umbels.

TAKE GOOD CARE, PAULA, THE FLOWER LADY

GREETINGS FLOWER SHARE MEMBERS,

TODAY THESE “FLOWERING NOTES” will be written by PJO…Enjoy!

GUEST WRITER OR GHOST WRITER? Some of you may remember the piece I wrote for Paula’s “Flowering Notes”
a couple of years ago. At that time I was living for the summer months as a guest at Common Place Farm- a guest who brought along her 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 3 horses for a few months (perhaps you could imagine that the
next time your human guests seem to get on your nerves a bit). Now we are permanent residents, and I find myself no less amazed at the Beauty, Magic, and Miracles that
are ever-present here, particularly on those evenings when the Flower Lady Goes-A-Pickin’. In fact, I think I’m even more amazed this summer considering the fact that Paula’s been out selecting, cutting, and trimming the flowers for your bouquets most often in 85+ degree weather with humidity levels high enough to turn stone to sponge, and neither she nor the flowers emerge from the fields looking the least bit wilted. Go figure. Once again, I’m back to thinking she’s out there practicing her own methods of magic just like I suspected in the summer of 2005.

READ ON…

GUEST WRITER OR GHOST WRITER? Although Paula asked me to be a guest writer, I am definitely a “ghost” writer, as I feel closer to the Spirit World here, at Common Place Farm, than anywhere I’ve ever been, like I can just slip by unnoticed and unencumbered, like I belong. Pure beauty does that to a person. It coaxes you to exhale and trust that you belong where you are. It invites you, in fact almost commands you, to just BE…and it is in the BEING that you become clear enough to not only really see the beauty that surrounds you, but also to dare to kick your shoes off and step right smack into the middle of it, which is exactly what I have been doing for the past month or so, and the opportunities for it have been endless.

I HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH to witness two big brown squares of dirt transform into what I imagine the jungles of Brazil to look like- thick and heavy with giant green leaves and splashes of yellows, and reds, and oranges, and purples, and blues poking through here and there…and each time I venture in to pull weeds, I feel like an explorer searching out new species (I still can’t tell a weed from a flower, so everything is a new discovery to me!). I have also watched tiny blue eggs turn into little naked birds with beaks bigger than their bodies seemingly always pointing up into wide-open V’s. And I have watched a dense mass of innumerable prickly sticks become the most amazing raspberry patch I have ever seen with a billion berries ranging in shades from “not yet” to “right now” to “oh darn!” I’ve encountered an utterly bizarre, fluorescent green moth that looked more like a flying anorexic frog as it tried to force its way into the farm house, its beauty only slightly surpassed by my fear. I’ve been hypnotized by the gentle swaying of a little hammock-like nest a very brave, if not somewhat silly, bird built at the very end of the only remaining branch on the entire north side of a seventy-foot red pine. I’ve been wowed by the showy displays of the BATMAN birds’ swooping and curving aerobatics from tree to bush to tree. I’ve been tricked into sleep by the coyotes’ oddly romantic howling and trumpeted into daylight by the songbirds’ almost too cheery rendition of “Morning Has Broken.” I’ve been stopped in my tracks on a late evening’s walk in the field by what, at first a mystery to me, was a rather large toad playing hide and seek, and in seeking him out discovered several bright, little, red splotches of wild strawberries hiding deep down below the green. I’ve listened intently to the big Basswood tree’s likely last, tired tellings of a long, hard life of standing up to intensely wild summer storms and viciously wicked winter winds.
Of these and so many other wondrous experiences, nothing, however, has yet compared to the recurring Monday Night Miracle at Common Place Farm.

EVERY MONDAY AT EXACTLY 5 P.M., donning her floppy white sailor hat, armed with two “watch-your-fingers-sharp” garden shears and six big black buckets, Paula heads out the door. Approximately one hour later, she steps out of the jungle with multitudes of brilliantly colored flowers spilling from her buckets, and although this always dazzles and delights me, it is not the miracle of which I speak. That occurs another three hours later when she emerges from what my eyes consistently say are nothing but brown and green fields, carrying bucketsful of the most logic-arresting, colorful wildflowers one could only imagine seeing in their dreams. And, although I’ve witnessed this again and again, I can make no sense of it. I admit to more than once having thought Paula must practice Magic and that she’s out in those fields casting spells every Monday night. Upon craftily spying on her, though, I have seen nothing more than a beautiful woman out in a field picking flowers. It must be, then, that Paula knows how to listen for and respond to Beauty’s command. She knows how to just BE, and therefore she’s become clear enough to really see the beauty that surrounds her and bold enough to kick off her shoes and step right into it. In this crazy and chaotic world, that in itself is a miracle.

-PJO-

A LITTLE STORY ABOUT HARRIET AND WILDFLOWERS FROM GARY LARSON’S:

THERE’S A HAIR IN MY DIRT:

“Around the bend the forest opened into a meadow of wild flowers as far as the eye could see. “My!” Harriet exclaimed, bedazzled. “I’m gazing at a painting! Oh, Mother Nature! What an artist you are!” Oh, Mother Nature! What a sex maniac you are! May have been a better choice of words for Harriet was actually gazing upon a reproductive battlefield. Using bright colors, nectar, mimicry, deception, and whatever other tricks they had up their leaves, these floral sirens were competing for the attention of pollinating insects. In a field of flowers, all is fair in bugs and war.”

GREETINGS FOLKS,

COMMON PLACE FARM got honey bees this year. It’s our latest adventure in creating as much of our own food as possible. Last season we added laying hens…13 of them. I had planned to get pigs this spring as well, but stopped myself after getting a sense of how much is involved in beekeeping after taking a short course at the U of M in St. Paul last March. I have dreams of pigs plowing our land so I can seed it with something beautiful. Because pigs are known to root as deep as eight inches into the ground, if you have them in a movable pen they could plow up any number of acres in one season! But then there’s the question of eating them. We haven’t quite worked through that one yet. Reading Barbara Kingsolver’s new book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle does help a bit, but watching the Charlotte’s Web DVD certainly does not! And then there was the offer a couple weeks ago of two French Alpine dairy goats that Patti stopped me from accepting…

IT’S HARD TO NOT keep bringing in the critters (we also just recently got a puppy!) We have such an animal-friendly place here with lots of unused land. But the care for each of these critters is often more than I expect. And I’m realizing (38 years into this thing called life) that I can either do many things not well at all (and go crazy doing them), or do less and have a bit more space for sanity.

SO THE BEES…I was sure they were going to be a simple and perfect addition to our flower farm…that is until the swarms…not one, but two!

I RECEIVE A PUBLICATION called “Yes!” I share with you here some excerpts from “The page that counts,” (Summer 2007) included in each edition.

Average percentage of food Americans consume that is dependent on honeybee pollination: 33

Dollars worth of seeds and crops honeybees annually pollinate in the United States: 14 billion

Percentage of bees on the East Coast that have vanished due to Colony Collapse Disorder: 60

Years Albert Einstein estimated humans could live if all bees died: 4

BE GOOD TO YOURSELF. PAULA, THE FLOWER LADY

HELLO ALL,

A NEW NATIVE TO YOUR BOUQUET this week is Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata, pronounced: ruh-TIB-ih-duh pin-AH-tuh). It is also called Gray-Headed Coneflower for its grey seed head. These prolific flowers now gaily line our driveway with their drooping petticoat of yellow petals that blow easily in the wind. Yellow Coneflower is not, as it’s common name suggests, a member of the Echinacea family, but the Aster family. The crushed seed heads have a sharply aromatic anise scent. Seeds are eaten by songbirds and its flowers attract several different species of butterflies.
Native Ratibida pinnata occurs naturally in borders of woods and prairies from Ontario and New York to Minnesota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, south to Georgia and Texas.

THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE was printed in the May 10,2007 edition of the Reader Weekly.

TAKE GOOD CARE. PAULA, THE FLOWER LADY

NOW, THIS IS REAL FLOWER-POWER!

By Lyn Clark Pegg

APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS. And Mother’s Day brings bouquets of flowers. Not only are flowers an enduring symbol of our love and respect for the mothers in our lives, research shows that the beauty and fragrances of flowers lift our spirits, enhance our self esteem, and strengthen our immune system.

MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL and Harvard Medical School recently reported their behavioral research study which found that those in the mist of fresh-cut flowers experienced less anxiety and depression, and more enthusiasm and compassion toward others. Previous research by both Virginia Lohr and Dr. Roger Ulrich measured reduced stress and pain levels in patients who viewed flowers and plants. Diane Relf of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute reports that studies have shown the positive effects of plants on the mental health of prison inmates, psychiatric patients and immigrants. The jury is in: flowers are good for our health, our sense of well-being and our relationships.

BUT LET US NOT FORGET our Mother Earth who has gifted us with these flowers. Timing and carefully controlled growing conditions are essential in the production of unblemished flowers that will open up at just the right time. Therefore flower plantations and indoor greenhouses require fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, temperature controls (heat as well as cold), and irrigated water. Unless great care is taken and environmental rules are respected, Mother Earth is polluted by those chemicals, and life-giving water will be diverted from the villages and farms that neighbor the plantations.

AND LET US NOT FORGET all the mothers who grow and prepare those flowers which please and delight us. The International Labor Organization and the International Labor Rights Fund have documented the working conditions of flower plantations in Ecuador and Colombia: workers may be forced to work long hours and often are not paid overtime; workers suffer from work-related health problems, including respiratory and neurological problems, as well as miscarriages and stillbirths; 20% of the 60,000 Ecuadorian flower workers are estimated to be children; over 55% of flower workers suffered some kind of sexual harassment. It’s very difficult for workers to protect themselves through organized actions, because their employers threaten to fire them if they do. Of the 300 flower companies in Ecuador, only two have unions.

NOT ALL FLOWERS ARE GROWN internationally. In fact, Len Busch Roses, the only major domestic grower outside of California and Florida, is located in Plymouth, Minnesota. This family-owned business was founded in 1965 and today has 15 acres of state-of-the-art greenhouses which produce a beautiful array of roses, tulips, lilies, snapdragons, gerbera daisies and alstroemeria. The company has heavily invested in its leading-edge growing methods, moving towards biological controls (natural predators for insect control), using recycled water, and fueling its furnaces with renewable fuel provided by local tree trimmers.

LEN BUSCH ROSES delivers fresh flowers throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and North and South Dakota. Deb Krebs, owner of Carlson Florist and Greenhouse, is one of their enthusiastic customers. She says, “Being an independent florist, I am well aware of the competition to provide the best quality. I have found that flowers grown within 150 miles will last longer, and are in prime condition. I want to assure the customer that we are not an assembly-line florist and create one-of the kind arrangements, one at a time.”

IT IS POSSIBLE TO ENJOY the benefits of flowers and at the same time limit the liabilities, with conscious and careful consideration of the options. When you buy a bouquet at your local supermarket or florist shop, ask if those flowers are imported and, if so, whether the manager can verify that labor and environmental standards are being respected. As the major importer of Colombian and Ecuadorian cut flowers, U.S. consumers are in a unique position to be able to press for environmental protection and better working conditions in the industry. If your questions are not answered, look for alternatives.

YOU CAN SEARCH ON THE INTERNET for internationally and domestically grown flowers with certifications, such as Organic (www.organicbouquet.com) and Veriflora (www.scscertified.com) which provide assurance that there has been oversight and accountability. Fair Trade flowers are expected to be available in the U.S. through TransFair (www.transfairusa.org) by the end of this year.

YOU ALSO CAN ENJOY local flowers from your own garden, farmers markets, and area growers. Paula Williams of the Common Place Farm in Barnum, Minnesota, grows field-fresh flowers from mid-July to mid-September. Common Place Farm (www.livethislifeonpurpose.com) is a CSA, which stands for “community supported agriculture.” CSA members purchase a “share” at the beginning of the season and receive bouquets weekly, delivered to centrally located drop-off sites in Duluth throughout the summer.

HONOR OUR MOTHERS on May 13th and throughout the year. Lift our spirits and enhance our health. Use our buying power to bring justice to the workers in the field and the marketplace. That’s flower power!

GREETINGS FOLKS,

THE FLOWER BOUQUET BUSINESS here at Common Place Farm is based on a unique concept of farming and marketing called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). In Japan in the mid-1960’s homemakers began noticing an increase in the use of pesticides, as well as processed and imported foods, the consistent loss of farmland to development, and the migration of farmers to the cities. These women approached a local farm family with an idea to address these issues and provide their families with fresh produce. Although these same trends in agriculture were happening in the US, the “teikei” system, which philosophically translates as “food with the farmer’s face on it,” did not begin here until the mid-1980s. It was then that Robyn Van En and others began to offer a “share” of the harvest from their farm in Massachusetts. Today there are more than 1500 CSA’s in the US offering fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, milk, eggs, meat, and even firewood.

AS THE LIFE OF AN AVERAGE PERSON becomes more and more remote from farming, it seems that farming (as it is conventionally practiced) has become less and less able to provide us with clean, healthy, life-giving products from the land, or a clean, healthy, life-giving environment. This has encouraged many people to become more knowledgeable about and involved in the stories of what they buy. Becoming a CSA member is a way to do this. Fundamentally, CSA is about a more intimate relationship between the grower and the consumer than that which exists in the conventional market where these two are almost completely separate. Consumers share in the bounty and rewards of sustainable farming as well as some of the risks involved. This alternative economy feeds people who want to be nourished by stories and connections.

CSA ALSO CREATES AN ALTERNATIVE distribution system. The environmental costs associated with the transport, processing, and distribution of agricultural products are significantly reduced. Your flowers traveled 40 miles to “market,” compared to the hundreds to thousands of miles a bouquet from the florist has traveled.

THE CSA MOVEMENT IS MORE THAN farmers directly providing products to consumers. It is a shared commitment to building a more local and equitable agriculture system, one that allows growers to focus on land stewardship and still maintain productive small farms. This commitment affects not only those who make it, but the generations to come that will inherit our choices. I am honored to be in this partnership with you.

THIS WEEK IN YOUR BOUQUET look for the native Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) with lavender-fringed blossoms and the square stem (typical of plants in the mint family). Also known as Bee Balm or Horsemint, the oil in their leaves imparts a pungent aroma, an essential flavoring in potpourri and teas including Earl Grey.

BUTTERFLY WEED (ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSA) is making its second and likely last showing in your bouquet this week. Also known as Pleurisy Root, this striking orange prairie plant is a favorite eating establishment for the monarch caterpillar. Some years ago I watched in ignorance and amazement as these caterpillars ate up as much of the Butterfly Weed as they could manage (which is a surprising amount given their size). As one of the more showy natives included in the bouquets, as well as one of the most valuable seeds on the farm, I want to save as much of it as possible. When I can, I try to relocate the caterpillars to the Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).

CALENDULA OFFICINALIS also called Pot Marigold or English Marigold, is one of the first annuals in my garden to show its cheery yellow and orange face this season. (Look for the yellow flower with burgundy on the undersides of the petals and in the center). In ancient Greek, Roman, Arabic and Indian cultures this plant was used as a medicinal herb as well as a dye for fabrics, foods and cosmetics. The leaves and petals of Calendula are edible. They look lovely in a salad.

ENJOY! AFFECTIONATELY, PAULA, THE FLOWER LADY

GREETINGS ON THIS FIRST FLOWER SHARE DELIVERY DAY OF THE SEASON,

IN THESE NOTES I will be sharing my thoughts on flowers, farming, and living in relation to the land. Occasionally I’ll add a book recommendation or a favorite recipe. At heart I’m a lover of beauty and truth. The work of a flower farmer offers copious opportunities to attend to both, and sharing my reflections is a great joy of mine. I will also include brief descriptions and potentially interesting tidbits of information about some of the flowers you’ll find in your bouquet. I will often focus on the native species cultivated here since they are new to many of us, and they are often what give bouquets from Common Place Farm their unique look. For those of you who are repeat customers, some of what you find in these notes will be a repeat from years past, and some will be new.

BUYING FLOWERS LOCALLY BINDS US TO THE SEASONS in a way that going to the local florist could rarely replicate (except for those lucky folks who live where florists are committed to buying locally). The climate of northern Minnesota creates significant limitations on the availability of a lot of flowers so many of us adore. When you seed a sunflower as soon as all danger of frost has passed, you just won’t see it much earlier than August. And many flowers such as snapdragons would not be possible at all without indoor seeding and growing under lights in April and May (and an accompanying electric bill 3X the size of other months!). What this means is that your bouquets in the first couple of weeks may be smaller and less diverse than those to come. Also flowers are chosen more for their seasonal availability than their aesthetic compatibility. Bouquets are only minimally arranged, so I encourage you to be creative and rearrange the bunch or make a number of smaller bouquets.

THIS WEEK IN YOUR BOUQUET you’ll find the native Early Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides), with it’s bright yellow petals and centers. Also known as Ox Eye Sunflower, it is not a sunflower at all, but rather, a member of the Aster family. With its aggressive nature, this flower pops up in patches here and there around the farm. Offering cheery color that lasts longer than any of the other natives on the farm, I don’t complain. Other natives in your bouquet include Butterfly Weed (bright orange), Rattlesnake Master (green), Golden Alexander already forming seed heads (yellowish-green), and Brown-Eyed Susan’s. Non-native species include Delphinium, Bachelor Buttons, Calendula and Bupleurum.

EXPECT YOUR BOUQUETS to last 5-7 days, with some flowers lasting even longer. The use of petroleum-based fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and fungicides, which may eliminate pest, disease, and weed problems can make for a stronger plant that extends vase life. Given what we know (and don’t) about the harmful effects of these products, the farm is committed to growing flowers (and food) without them, even if the trade-off is a shorter-lasting flower and perhaps some crawly critters to accompany your blooming flowers. Pesticides widely used on flowers grown in Latin America include several banned in the U.S. Roses, tested by the Environmental Working Group were found to contain toxicity levels up to 50 times the amount allowed in food. The thought of putting flowers on your table that should be handled by workers wearing protective gear does diminish the pleasure of their beauty for me.

TO GET THE LONGEST POSSIBLE LIFE from your bouquet re-cut each stem at an angle about ½ inch from the bottom. Strip away any foliage that will be under water, as it will encourage the growth of bacteria. Dirt will also create bacteria, so use a clean container (”as clean as your teacups”). Keep your bouquet out of direct sunlight, and in as cool of a place as possible. Warmer temperatures will cause it to wilt faster. When the first flowers do fade or wilt you can remove them if you like.

WISHING YOU WELL, PAULA, THE FLOWER LADY

p.s. for a great book on eating locally, check out Barbara Kingsolver’s new one: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

p.s.s. I still have a few half-shares available …spread the word!

I HEARD A RADIO PROGRAM RECENTLY on the effects of invasive species on the Great Lakes. The statistics were startling. Since 1999 more than 50,000 loons and other water-loving critters have been lost in the big waters we’re lucky enough to call home. Like many of our human ancestors, these foreigners came over on boats. Some of the species have been here so long we have forgotten that they were once alien to this place at all. We’ve also forgotten, or never even knew, what they crowded out in making a place for themselves. Making distinctions between what belongs somewhere and what doesn’t is complex and delicate business.

BEFORE THE PLOW MADE A PLACE for itself on this continent in the 1800’s, one-third of the land was native prairie. Many of the plants that were signatures of that prairie have been making their appearance in your bouquets: Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), and Early Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides), and this week, Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), and Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium). Are you one of the lucky few who have been blessed to stand on any of the remaining virgin prairie, now only in pockets scattered here and there? Often, those who own it guard it fiercely. I am encouraged by this demonstration of love for one’s homeland. In the world I want to live in, planting and tending a patch of native prairie is included in the definition of what it means to be patriotic.

AS AN ADVOCATE OF WHAT IS NATIVE to a place, AND a lover of what is beyond any borderline, I struggle with where to land amid the seeming contradictions. I believe it is a worthy struggle. Largely, we have become a land of aliens- foreigners- people, and critters, and colorful growing things that aren’t from here. This trend seems likely to continue. We’d be fools to think we can, or would want to live purely native to a place. But I still champion any efforts made to go someplace, dig in, and begin the long search and experiment in becoming native.

WITH CARE, PAULA, THE FLOWER LADY

GREETINGS FOLKS,

I’M STILL THINKING ABOUT WEEDS. They’re messy business and don’t easily lend themselves to short reflections. I wish creating a space for “countless flowers” were as simple as not mowing. I can imagine a time when this was possible. A time before spraying, monocropping, and mowing became the fashion, when most farmers left a border of “wild” species around their farm. Perhaps they understood the benefits of an ecosystem where beneficial and beautiful insects and critters thrive on the diversity of plant species native to their place. Or perhaps they just had other things they needed (or wanted) to spend their time doing.

TODAY IF YOU LEAVE AN AREA UNMOWED you’re more likely to have a waving field of invasive weeds that may have no more value to the land than the lawn you abandoned. I wonder if this is why so many people, even in the country, meticulously mow to the final frontier of their property? Or is it simply that lawn care is big business? Currently there are 50,000 square miles of lawn under cultivation at a cost of $30 billion a year. By the acre more pesticides and herbicides are put on lawns than on any crop grown in this country. For a fascinating and entertaining history of Americans devotion to lawns check out Michael Pollan’s book, Second Nature.

OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE EARTH seems to get more complicated the more intimate we become with it. Before I began gardening it was easy to be a self-righteous and idyllic lover of nature and look down on any number of practices as reprehensible. It reminds me of the difference between loving someone from afar and living out that love day to day with another someone. Idealism soon becomes a wall that if we’re not able to bring down (or go over or around), will ultimately stop us from having the intimacy we desire.

OFTEN LEFT WITH AN INHERITANCE of overcultivated land heavily doused with chemicals, we are left with choices that certainly don’t feel idyllic. When I learned that the former owners used Roundup to establish the acres and acres of native species they planted on the farm, we were quite disturbed. Knowing them to be conscientious caretakers, we were surprised by their use of an overused chemical. As our relationship with this land goes on four years, the complications of good stewardship have eroded our confidence in knowing what is the right thing to do. Establishing new plantings amongst the invasive weeds requires a choice between a one-time application of Roundup, a water-soluble herbicide that although it breaks down quickly is not within organic standards; or the use of gas and oil to run a tractor to prepare the soil for planting. Having just finished round two of war games with Iraq, a petroleum-rich nation, I am acutely aware of my dependence and overuse of a finite and politically volatile substance. I don’t have many answers yet, only more questions.

A NEW NATIVE TO YOUR BOUQUET this week is Yellow (or Gray-Headed) Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata). These prolific flowers now gaily line our driveway with their drooping yellow petals that blow easily in the wind. Yellow Coneflower is not, as it’s common name might suggest, a member of the Echinacea family, but the Aster family. Seed heads smell strongly of spice when crushed. I’ve also included the first blooming Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) of the season. Unfortunately this graceful and cheery flower that colors fields from late summer (Are we already there?) into the fall has gotten the bad rap of causing hay fever. Most hay fever is actually caused by Giant Ragweed that blooms at the same time. The genus Solidago means “to heal,” or “to make whole,” although little medicinal value is attributed to the plant today. Goldenrod has long been a symbol for treasure and good fortune. It is said that the one who carries it will soon find a treasure.

GO WELL AND EASY, PAULA, THE FLOWER LADY