The Persistence of Plants

A Lesson in Endurance

Barring intentional poisoning, too frequent mowing or over zealous weed whacking, most plants can survive heat, drought and subzero temperatures. They comes back from the roots or reseed with a persistence that astounds. If only humans were as durable.

There are fields of trees that are really one tree interconnected by root system. My native chestnut oak, walnut, butternut and osage orange trees bear fruit that yield seedlings every year.

A passing motorist stopped and asked for osage balls and I invited him to take all he wanted since we have a long row of osage beside the highway. After filling his pickup bed he related that they are for a horticulturist who is planning to striate them and start seedlings to bring back the tree. So happy to be part of that.

It isn’t just trees who keep at it. My firebushes reseed and my raspberry vines send runners persistently. Even annuals like tomatoes, marigolds and morning glories often reseed the next year. If I did not mow pathways my yard would be enveloped by a temperate jungle.

The bougainvillea pictured above does have to migrate to the basement for the winter, but it still blooms even in winter.

So why do writers give up? Possibly because, like plants, they have critics taking them down with poison, blade and malicious intent. A story worth starting is a story worth finishing even if it takes a year. If someone doesn’t like it, them someone else will. And there are plenty of stories that need to be told.

"I think when we have all passed away, the plants will take over again. They need insects, perhaps animals to carry their seeds but not us." Adam Wright in The Hand That’s Dealt, available now on Kindle Vella.