Get to Know Your Plant Neighbors...

Get To Know Your Plant Neighbors
by Lia Grippo

What volunteer or wild plant is growing nearest to your door?  

• What does it look like?  
• Have you seen any others like it around?  
• Does it have a scent?
• Can you and your child make up a name for it?  What does it want to be called?

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Getting to know plants is like getting to know people.  Knowing someone's name doesn't usually tell you much about them.  In order to get to know someone we have to pay attention and engage our curiosity.  It is the same with Nature connection. 

• Where does a plant like to grow? 
• Does it like to be out in full sun, partial sun, or full shade? 
• What critters tend to be around it? 
• Does it show signs that someone likes to eat it, or not? 

These are but a tiny sample of the questions we might ask in an attempt to become familiar with a plant.  I love that word, "familiar." It is rooted in being intimate, a part of a family, a relative. Making up a name based on what you notice about a plant is in fact how plants have been given common names (and in many cases, latin names as well) throughout time.  Common names for plants are often based on our relationship with them. Don't let not knowing a plant's name get in the way of your making it a friend. The name can come later, as can the facts. To begin, only curiosity is required.