The World Beneath My Feet: Falling in Love With Native Plants
It’s difficult to remember what it was like being outside when I was still plant blind. Instead of the specific joy tied to memories where I discover a new species not seen before, it’s fuzzy and vague. I find myself experiencing FOMO sifting through past experiences despite having been in that space before, only with half of the awareness that I have now. My surroundings have taken on a new meaning in the present, and every tangle of greenery that I pass - I must stop and peer through.
Before, I would stare out the window at an endless sea of green as we drove around the province on road trips. It was a monoculture of things I just did not care about. Now, we have to be careful not to waste too much time stopping as I ask to pull over and look through the plant life of ditches, my sharp eyes picking out interesting leaf shapes contrasting against grass shoots.
My partner laughs as I pick my way across the gravel surrounding this battery pad out in the mountains, shaking his head as I point things out eagerly. “ I can really take you anywhere, and you’ll be happy if there are plants. “ I grinned in response, cooing over a glabrous Shrubby Cinquefoil before rushing over to a Mealy Primrose and taking photos for later identification. Years ago, when we first began dating, I didn’t have a single hobby to speak of.
That changed when the pandemic hit, and I elected to stay inside and away from people for a good long while. In this time I discovered house plants, and killed a few in my first forays of being a ' plant mom. ' I started researching how to take care of plants, and discovered conflicting information that raised more questions than answers. Realizing there was both good and bad information out there lead me to take an evidence based approach, and I discovered that growing houseplants in an environment similar to where they occur natively was the best practice.
Down the rabbit hole I went, putting two and two together and turning my gaze outdoors, where I began gardening and incorporating native species for pollinator value, just a few at first. I had been terrified of bugs up until this point and I had reasoned to myself I couldn't be running away screaming from wasps, so I had better learn how to live with them. Turns out, feeding them with native plants is a great way to become friends, and that's exactly what I did. I began devouring all things related to bugs and local plant ecotypes, including long lectures on youtube and many, many hours of podcasts and reading.
The more I learned the farther I became entrenched in the native plant movement, the joy of discovery and learning unapparelled in my life so far. Everything was so interesting, and the world was just so much larger than I had originally thought. Not only were there bugs, but there were parasitic bugs, and hyper parasitic bugs! There are worlds under our feet and all around us, including fungi, microbes, and bacteria, and they are all interlinked with native plants.
Studying field botany has changed my life for the better, as connecting with the living world has brought me immense peace. Learn about a local, native plant, and spark a hobby you can carry with you for the rest of your life!
