In the wonderful book The Little Prince, there's a scene at the end where the fox says to the little prince "Please tame me!". And he then says: "One only understands the things that one tames. Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops...."
I had to think of that when I went for a spin on my bike on Steven's Creek trail last weekend. It was a glorious day, a break in the rain, and the bush with the pink flowers was special to me because I knew it was a native current, and that its berries would nourish the native birds in the fall.
The small tree with the pink blossoms next to the creek was a California Redbud (Cercis occidentalis), and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the baby tree in my front yard will also blossom soon.
And the Arctostaphylos, in full bloom, was a special delight (though I got tired of getting off the bike for pictures after that).
"And now, here's my secret, a very simple secret," said the prince, "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye....It's the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."In that way, I feel that a native plant garden can bring special joy to us all not only when looking at the garden, but also when we're out and about and meeting old friends everywhere.
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I believe natives revive our spirits because we're feeling the connection between us and our land. We really need that to be sane and happy. (My mother used to say that city people were a bit crazy because they didn't have a piece of land of their own to set foot on.)
"....It's the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."