Welcome to May of 2024 and the HerbWalks & OjaiHerbal newsletter. Two months ago, I added this column to see if an herbal community of kindred spirits might come together around a shared love of Nature and a mutual enjoyment of sharing Nature, including sharing our thoughts. I think the reply below to the April “Dear Readers” column from Eric T.  is so insightful — and moves the conversation along so well — that I’m sharing it in full here:

“I loved reading your thoughts [about accepting weeds] at the beginning of your newsletter today.   I too, have been noticing more of an acceptance of the way things are as I get older. Humans tend to try to shape nature the way they think it should be, which usually ends badly. Humans are notorious for transporting non-native and invasive species. However, before humans, seeds would fall, blow, or wash into streams, which takes them to rivers, which takes them to the ocean where currents transport them to far off places. Birds also can also transport seeds thousands of miles away. Animals can transport seeds hundreds of miles away.  Wind can transport seeds hundreds of miles away.  So invasive species of plants have always been able to move from place to place. 

“Nature has a way of bringing everything into balance.  When an invasive species takes over because there are no predators or pathogens to keep them in check, organisms evolve to become predators and pathogens and balance is restored.   The fact that this takes longer than our lifetime makes us feel we have to do something now.  I also feel that urge to do something now when invasive species are detrimental to the environment in which they are growing.   Frustration occurs not knowing how and when to help nature and when to stand aside and let nature do its thing.  

“As I get older, I feel that nature has been doing its thing since the beginning of this earth successfully, so in most cases, we should just get out of nature's way.  As time goes on nature constantly evolves but as humans, we are constantly trying to keep things the same.  Therein lays a major conflict.”

Eric deftly breaks down the ways in which plants have been following their natural drive to live and to spread their seed far and wide. There are so many good reasons for them to keep pushing the envelope, to keep moving outside the box into unfamiliar territory. What a teaching for us humans right there! (No, I don’t mean the propagating part. We’re doing plenty of that. I mean the envelope part.)

I would add that while we speak often of using plants, it may be that, in reality, the plants are using us, along with all the other seed-dispersing elements and animals that serve them. Many plants have made their seeds so clingy or tiny that we can’t avoid transporting them. Other plants are so delicious or healing or visually beautiful that we can’t resist eating or growing them. So are we really “notorious" for transporting non-native and invasive species? Would it be a cop-out for us to answer, “Your honor, the plants made me do it?” Would that get us off the hook for our transgressions?

We’ll continue mining this vein into the nature of nature — and the nature of human nature — next month. If you have the time or inclination, please weigh in with a signed or unsigned comment of any length to readers@herbwalks.com. 

Thanks for reading,
Lanny