With the return of light rain to western Washington, and the end of what passes for a drought in these parts, I am relieved to report that the 90,000 or so native plants that we at Sound Native Plants in Olympia propagated this Spring and carefully tended through the increasingly hot and dry Summer, have landed on the welcome shore of Autumn. This is something to be grateful for.
Autumn also means the return of our work study crew from the Evergreen State College, which is literally just around the corner. We are near enough to the campus to consider ourselves a practical part of it; the college radio station comes in loud and clear on a less than high tech tuner. Many of these students are returning to us, and some will be entirely new. For the former, much will be familiar, but we take a lot of time to orient them, and really consider ourselves a significant part of their educational experience. A couple have even told me that they learn more about Botany with us, than they do from the faculty down the road.
We teach more than Botany here though, so below the fold are two distinct documents I wrote up to share with the students, and I thought there might be a place for them here as well.
A Season in the Nursery
- Autumn is the season of seed collecting, shipping and increasingly it is the season of sowing. The material propagated for 2011 is ready to be planted, but first it must be loaded into trucks and transported to final destinations. This process involves sorting, some pruning, lifting and loading of thousands of pots into trucks of all shapes and sizes. When we are not engaged in this activity, we will be sowing or collecting seeds of emergent and woody species. Of course, at all times, the cleanliness and organization of the nursery will be maintained and improved.
- Winter is the time to collect cuttings. We will be traipsing into forests and wetlands, seeking the rough material that will return to the nursery and be processed neatly into bundles of hard wood cuttings for cold storage. Before long, the gargantuan task of potting will begin. Dozens of yards of media will be delivered, and moved one shovel full at a time onto the table, and one gallon at a time into containers, and out into the nursery yard with carefully placed plants safely nestled in each. Organization and cleanliness will continue to be the very highest concern.
- Spring is the time to propagate. Tens of thousands of seeds and cuttings will be introduced to media that will welcome radicals and roots. The nursery will again be filled with meticulously ordered and kept containers, soon to be brimming with vigorous green. The pesky weed seeds will vie for the sun and water and nutrients we feed to our deserving plants; it will take a concerted effort to deny these interlopers sustenance. Fortunately the careful order of all things will make it possible for us to succeed.
- Summer is the season of watering and pruning and considerate care. Maintenance, construction and reorganization take place, as we make certain that every pot is watered, and each plant is given the attention it needs. Seed collecting begins toward the end of summer, as plants complete their dharmic mission. Soon daylight will dwindle, and the leaves of the wild plants will wilt in anticipation of the season’s change. Our plants will bask in the last golden light of the long growing season, prepared for a storied life in the Washington wilds, along a buzzing freeway, or buffering the edge of a critical wetland.
Rubric 2012
1.0 Perfection is out of reach. Always strive for perfection.
2.0 Every rule is made to be broken.
2.1 If you break a rule make note of it, and track the outcome of your actions.
2.2 Never break a rule in secret.
2.3 When keeping to the letter of a rule, be sure to keep its spirit too.
3.0 If you want something done exactly the way you want it done, do it yourself.
3.1 If you ask someone to do something, expect them to do it differently than you.
4.0 Do the hard work yourself, leave the easy work to others.
4.1 If you see something do something.
5.0 Work joyfully and with conviction.
5.1 Visualize the project you will be undertaking. Decide what tools and materials you will need to complete it ahead of time and have them all on hand. Stage your work area so that the work is enjoyable and it moves along smoothly.
5.2 Select your tools wisely. Move from tool to tool in a sequence. As one reaches the limit of its usefulness in a given application, move to the next tool, maximizing the relationship between the two and the unique qualities of each.
6.0 Complete the task you have begun.
6.1 If you cannot finish the work you have begun: clean up and arrange the space you are working in so that it is tidy. Put tools and materials away or arrange them neatly nearby. Do whatever is necessary to ensure the lapse in labor will not negatively effect the outcome of the project.
7.0 Imagine novel solutions to problems and experiment with them at every opportunity; implement them when existing systems do not exceed expectations.
8.0 Improve upon your own work as you would improve upon others.
8.1 Critically analyze your own work just as you would others.
8.2 Leave room for others to improve upon their work and your own.
9.0 Failure is temporary, victory is eternal.
9.1 When feeling overwhelmed with things to do, undertake the next task with the most careful consideration, and execute it as perfectly as possible, this will serve to relieve you of your suffering.
10.0 Be grateful for the opportunity to do good work.