Plantopia

Dandelion Sapien & dandelion fluff Dandelions are special.  They just are.  They can grow anywhere, they improve soil, they feed bees and other pollinators.  Every part of them from root to seed is edible.  Not only edible, but incredibly nutritious and good for you.  I have a well meaning neighbor who would pull them out of my yard.  I asked her not to do that.  We compromised that she could pull the flowers before they went to seed.  Now she doesn’t bother them anymore.  My oldest grandson had digestion issues as a baby.  I started letting him pick & eat dandelions and his digestion issues went away. This poor maligned herb deserves a lot more love than it gets.  They’re always welcome in my yard.

The apple tree was a Mother’s Day present over 20 years ago.  I planted it right in front of our big picture windows because I didn’t want to look at the neighbor’s house.  It was supposed to be Gala apples but that part was a graft.  The graft died & I thought that was the end of it, but the roots survived & sent up another top.  I was so excited!  I have a great fondness for this tree.  Every year I get Mason bees delivered to pollinate the blooms.  Also because I like bees.  Every fall this little tree gifts us with far more apples than we can use.  I share them with friends & make a lot of applesauce that I also share.  I did a project one year of taking one photo a week of the tree or part of the tree that I had made into a book.  The tree sent one branch towards the porch.  I hold the branch every time I go out the front door.  While doing the exercises in the dryad charm book this is the tree that volunteered and next week it will be my partner in I Am Plant.  The Pl

  There are two Douglas Fir trees at the north end of our house. They don't shade anything but our backyard. The trees are messy, I'm forever cleaning up needles, cones, and the occasional branch. The roses I wanted to plant along the fence failed to thrive due to lack of sun & all the needles. I found them irritating & complained about them a lot. Then we had a horrible storm and the winds were so strong they were actually bending over the roof of the house & scraping off shingles & flinging them everywhere. While we were fixing the roof I started talking about cutting the trees down. This is not usual for me. I pretty much always side with the tree & want to keep them. In a strange turn of events my husband wanted to keep them. He's not usually pro-tree. We went back and forth about the trees a long time. Then during another storm the trees shit a branch through the roof right over where I usually sit. It didn't go all the way through the ceiling,

  Let me introduce you to the Planta Sapiens. They have a story to tell you. What if plants were more like us? Would we be more inclined to pay attention to them? To listen? First row left to right:Daisy Sapien, Coneflower Sapien, Cacti Sapien, Ivy Sapien, Sprouta Sapien Back row left to right:Dahlia Sapien, Sunflower Sapien, Dandelion Sapien, Douglas Fir Sapien, and Spider Planta Sapien There are a few more that didn't make the picture. They have stories to tell us. Will we listen?

  Together with the plants we can save the world. No superhero needed. No flapping capes, unless that is what you like to wear. Leave your spandex in the drawer. All we need are leaves & stems, roots & branches, petals & stamen. Who needs to leap tall buildings when you can grow an apple. Or have have x-ray vision when you can grow a pear? The Batmobile would be cool though, but can I bring my seedlings?