I can’t count the times I have looked at a plant and said “Oh, I used to have one of those.”  

When I go to that Great Nursery in the Sky, will I be called to account for all the pots I forgot to water, the torture of perennials that had been beaten into submission by weeds, or the failure to put the needs of the plant over my own desires about placement and zone appropriateness? The neglected plants that starved? The forgotten pots that I brought home and never got planted? 

Who are the Pollinators? Insects, including bees, beetles, wasps, flies, moths, and butterflies are most commonly thought of as pollinators.  Hummingbirds and bats are also important in pollination services. We should not underestimate their importance when 90% of the plant species on earth depend on pollination.

Fresh garden fruits and vegetables and colorful swaths of blooms are only part of the impulse for the gardener to dig in the dirt. The temptations and rewards are as individual as the gardener. I’ve confessed to a collector’s impulse (hey! I did NOT say “a hoarder’s impulse”), which moves me to acquire many—indeed, sometimes way too many—species and varieties of a plant type in order to experience with my own hands its range of peculiarities, requirements and rewards. It provides an avenue for pursuing new knowledge and experience, and frequently introduces us to new people with similar pursuits and impulses.