Sarah Gibbard Cook
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Unnatural Selection

9/23/2019

6 Comments

 
​Equinox comes later on this year’s calendar than most. Summer is long gone by other measures: cool nights, students back in school, more flowers faded than coming into bloom.

This summer I wrote less and gardened more than usual. It’s my third year to relish the perennials that came with the house and the wildflowers that arrive uninvited. No expert gardener, I often fail with new plantings. More successful is my “unnatural selection” approach: choose which hardy volunteers to encourage and pull the rest out of their way.

Like so much in gardening, it’s a good metaphor for the rest of life. I don’t need many new plantings; apart from wishing family lived closer and bodies worked better, I have pretty well all I need or want. The trick is to keep culling out the pieces that no longer fit, so the favorite elements of my days have space to grow and thrive.
6 Comments
Anne Liesendahl
9/23/2019 06:02:44 pm

Sarah, Like the photos and new heading. Sounds like a fun summer. I simply am not getting any housework done. But I am going to watercolor class weekly.
Anne

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Sarah link
9/25/2019 07:19:52 am

Weekly watercolor class sounds like a wonderful way to keep your creative juices flowing, Anne! My creative writing juices slowed considerably over the summer - family health issues disrupted focus - bu I have high hopes for fall.

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Rebecca link
11/4/2019 12:46:58 pm

I identify with what you're saying about gardening. Cardinal flower and pasque flower couldn't compete with purple asters, so they were edged out over the past two years. Apt metaphor for social interactions too, well put! -Rebecca

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Sarah link
11/4/2019 03:07:20 pm

Only one purple aster keeps coming back for me. I keep trying to renew them with plants from the garden store, all of which fail. Unfortunately, what edges them out is grasses and unattractive weeds.

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Rebecca link
11/10/2019 09:59:25 pm

Oh, goodness. Can I ever hook you up with more purple aster! I have seeds and plants to share. : )

Sarah link
11/11/2019 01:30:01 pm

Rebecca, I'd love a bunch of purple aster! Wrong time o year to transplant it, though.

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    I'm a historian who writes novels and literary nonfiction. My home base is Madison, Wisconsin. 

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