The Seed 21: Change Begins At Home

Let’s begin this month’s newsletter with a riddle:

What does a parking meter hold, a baby need, and a politician always promise?

You guessed it, Change!

Recently there’s been a lot said in this country about the subject of change. It seems to me as though many of my fellow countrywomen and countrymen have had their hopes for America renewed by the symbolic election of Barack Obama, a man who promised in his victory speech that, “Change has come to America”. Well this humble gardener couldn’t be more ready for some changes in America! The changes I’m most excited about however, will require much more then symbolism and politician’s patriotic promises. Real change is as inevitable as the snow that will soon blanket our yards, and once real change has taken hold, it will effect every part of what we see and do just as the snow changes the landscape. One big question many Americans are forming for themselves right now is "How do we stay ahead of the learning curve of change?" Many of us have a sense that there are going to be adjustments that need to be made to the way we live our daily lives if we are going to keep ourselves and our communities livable and economically viable, but what will these changes look and feel like?

Change is what makes a gardeners life exciting. We watch for the seasonal changes in our yards, we rearrange garden beds to give us a different sense or feeling in our landscape, we happily observe trees growing taller and perennials spreading out. Change comes as natural to a gardener as the sunset or the moonrise, so this gardener has a few suggestions for how Americans could change the way they live with their landscapes, while positively impacting their own lives, and the way the entire community functions. This month’s newsletter is dedicated to long needed change, and the capacity we each have to make this world a healthier, happier, and easier place to live.

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