Circular

‘Plants thrive in their natural environment. They grow effortless, the only thing I need to do, is to keep them inside the designated flowerbed’, the gardener says a little later, enjoying a cup of coffee. When I first started this job, I wanted exotic plants to flower the place. I worked hard, using every possible trick to predominate Mother Nature. I used poison to eliminate the very plants that blossom here now. At that time they were no more than weeds to me.’

Weed: any vegetation that grows wild and profusely, especially one that grows among cultivated plants, depriving them of space, food, etc. What is weed for one person, can be a cherished flower for the other.

Weed is a matter of opinion.

One night the man woke up from a disturbing nightmare. The weed was covering his backyard, growing rapidly and invading the house through the kitchen door, he left ajar. Mother Nature took revenge for poisoning her children. At that moment the gardener decided to change. He became an eco gardener.

First he looked what kind of plants grew naturally on his premises. He discovered a variety of ferns and other shadow plants that felt at ease between the trees. He built a wooded bank, made of branches to fence off the premises. The branches originated from the trees inside the garden. Instead of throwing them away after trimming the plants, the gardener piled them up. After a while, small animals, like birds, mice and toads sheltered inside the wooded bank. A robin started to accompany the gardener when he was working.

The gardener planted a walnut tree to chase nasty biting mosquitoes. After trimming the willow he put the branches in a big ton of water for some weeks. They grew roots and were implanted along the wooded bank. Next to it, in the back, he piled compost, to be able to recycle waste and ameliorate the structure of the earth. He learned how to cut the waste small and turn the shovel, so air can enter the pile. He got the hang of it. He learned to think about his garden as a circular course. A water-butt underneath the rain-pipe now collects rainwater to wet the grass in times off drought. He felt as if he was solving a puzzle, putting the peaces together bit by bit.

The new way of looking at things, saved the gardener a lot of time and frustration fighting undesired plants. Plus: using what is in natural stock saved him a lot of money. And: he was no longer haunted in his dreams.

nonfiXe, june 2009