Text and Illustration by Leslie Watkins

Nature gives freely. She provides us with fruits, nuts, grains and leafy greens both directly and indirectly through the animal products we use for food, warmth, protection and a myriad of other things. But do we truly appreciate and respect Nature’s gifts, or are we taking her for granted?

When a garden is taken for granted or neglected, it stops producing. Opportunistic weeds take over, and we receive less in terms of nutritional value. A thriving garden requires give and take from both garden and gardener. Wise gardeners understand the value of the better quality seeds and plants they select to grow. Why spend the effort preparing the soil and the time to nurture less valuable plants for inferior results? But an ignorant gardener shows their lack of understanding by making uninformed decisions. A green thumb is earned through knowledge and is easily acquired by anyone willing to invest in it.

There’s an old apple tree gone wild at the edge of an abandoned field nearby that is barely surviving. I’ve tasted the apples from that tree and they are among the very best I’ve ever eaten. But no one has invested in that tree for a very long time. Many of the branches are now broken on the ground, and its trunk is split down the middle. It’s nearly covered with bittersweet vines. Barberry grows thickly underneath it. The tree has hardly produced any fruit in the past several years, and I don’t expect it to last much longer.

Recently I was reminded of something I was told a long time ago by a very successful and wise artist, “Make sure you’re paid for your work, even if it’s just a dollar. People don’t respect what they don’t pay for—they will never appreciate it.” I think there’s a lot of truth in that statement. Experience has shown the kind of disrespect one can experience when work given for free is not valued. Alternatively, when someone pays for services or products, they become invested. They’re simultaneously investing in themselves, and therefore worth is established.

The saying goes “you get what you pay for.” But, you may value something worthless that you’ve paid for and fail to value something that’s a treasure and is free. To cast pearls before swine means to give something of value to someone who doesn’t appreciate it. Perceived value may cause the packet of free seeds to get lost in the shed while we plant seeds we’ve bought. The only way to know true value is through knowledge. And knowing that what we’re offering is valuable and making sure it’s appreciated is our responsibility. 

March Chores

• Pick up fallen branches
• Start cutting back gardens
• Collect trash from the roadsides
• Trim back apple trees
• Remove barberry and bittersweet
• Avoid stepping on wet earth
• Make room for emerging bulbs
• Take down birdfeeders
• Leave cover for beneficial insects
• Clean out birdhouses