Climate Control
The Lessons of
Flowering Plants.
If I were to teach a little kid about
direction and elevation and the differences they make to climate, this would be
the time of year to do it. We've had a cold spring, with frost mantling the
higher ranges of the grassy "island" in the center of our cul-de-sac. The grass
goes from wet and green at the edges to cold, brittle and white as the mound
rises. And yet, plants which shelter close to the house are fine - even the
herbs in the tub out back.
The
front of our house faces North, and we are surrounded by trees, so we are
partial-sun/shade gardeners. All down the street, azaleas are exploding in
scarlet, white, and pink blooms. Our most advanced one is barely unfurling a
few petals. Our neighbors directly across the street have peonies which I covet
with envy as green as the new leaves of the trees on our street, but their
south-facing house has the sun for growing peonies and ours does
not.
As mobile animals, we
have a poor conception of what the differences in shade, direction, and
elevation can do to climate. We exclaim about how cold it is in the shade and
move to the sun, rubbing our arms and shivering. Plants do not have the same
luxury of rapid movement: they can slowly reach their faces toward the light,
hoping to get there in time, their slow progress impeded by the lack of the
thing they seek.
I look across
the street at the bright blooms and savor my mammalian quickness as I dart
around our local nursery, making shade-hardy selections from the vast array. I
also watch my own azaleas' slow flowering and know that my neighbors will
appreciate these blooms when theirs are gone.
Posted: Wednesday - May 04, 2005 at 08:18 AM
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