Happy Litha Everyone!

I spent Litha on the beach in a meditation of writing page after page of what I experienced. Here's a little blog-length suited piece I penciled out:

To the beach they come
alone or in groups
with their families and their little scout troupes.
They come to break free of the mold
with large bright kites they hold.
They come to the beach.

To the beach they come
in pink boots, pig-tails, tiaras and sundresses
with fresh skin and not yet sun-kissed tresses.
They build drift wood pirate ships seeking treasures to behold
finding adventures in exotic lands untold.
They come to the beach.

To the beach they come
and they run with their dogs
no matter the weather: sun, rain or fog.
They walk the rocky shore line
to contemplate their life so sublime.
They just can't help but come to the beach.

Won't you come to the beach?
Experience this wondrous piece
of heaven that takes you away!
Be what you wish; go where you will,
just come to the beach for the day!

Deconstructing My Whorish Behavior

Dictionary.com has multiple definitions for whore, whorish, whored, whoring, etc...which, obvious sexual implications aside, include: to corrupt, debauch (a personal favorite, along with the term "strumpet," but that's for another day), to be considered as having compromised principles for personal gain, to compromise one's principles for personal gain, and to worship false and impure gods and addicted to unlawful pleasures.

Ok, great; now we're getting somewhere! Now we have some raw material to sink our teeth into.

As usual, context is everything.

In the wonderful world of gardening, there are rules to follow, colors to match, borders to maintain, expensive cultivars to acquire, and "undesirables" to root-out!

So, where does the gardener fit in who likes her wild weeds mixed in with her nursery plants? One who salvages Daisy seedlings, Lady's Mantle and Love-In-A-Mist (all wonderfully promiscuous plants), just for the pure joy of watching them run amok in her garden?!

Oh, the corruption and debauchery! The compromised principles.

And to think, I actually cultivate dandelions (false & true), shot weed and sheep sorrel!! I would even go so far as to say that I worship them. I was recently so happy to find some sheep sorrel growing under one of my Gaura plants that I actually danced a happy little jig right in the middle of my driveway.

Surely that qualifies as an unlawful pleasure...one to which I am absolutely addicted!

So, what is the personal gain that comes of this lewd gardening behavior?

A fabulously wild & wanton garden.

In The Beginning...there was a plant whore

The nickname "Plant Whore" was given to me by friends and co-workers (I'm a gardener by profession) because of my near obsessive love of plants...and plant salvage. This, of course, has no direct correlation with whorish behavior, but rather involves the use of slang terminology. For example, someone might say, I would take a bullet for him" or "I would die for you;" likewise, I would say, "I would whore myself out for that!" Its a figure of speech, and yet, honestly, it pretty much sums up how I feel about plants (and animals, but I won't go there right now). That is to say that I would go to extreme lengths to rescue and care for discarded, abandoned or abused forms of all life. Specific to the garden, if someone is throwing away a perfectly good plant, in my presence, I'll take it every time. I just can't say no. That plant is a living entity and, as such, ought to have a shot at self-actualization.

Being a native-Texan raised in Upstate New York and now living in Seattle, I'm a bit of a cultural complexity, but my native-Texan Mom taught me to speak my mind...and she raised me surrounded by strong, female role models. To quote one of her (and my) favorites, "I believe in practicing prudence at least once every two or three years." - Molly Ivins.

I agree. Thus begins the Plant Whore's blog.