Knowledge is Power

I owe about 90% of my front garden to my friend, Natasha, across the street. She has given me all sorts of plants over the years as she has tended to her own beautiful garden. She has told me the names of these plants so many times that I’m too embarrassed to ask again. Being home all the time now and paying closer attention to my garden, I have a strong urge to know all their names, and I’m beginning to notice the same plants around my neighborhood. Well, I now have the app PlantSnap. I simply take a picture of the plant, and within seconds, I have the common and scientific names. Now I can say things like, “That mayapple you gave me nearly a decade ago is really thriving!” or “I’ve been noticing so many people have spiderwort in the neighborhood -such an off putting name for such a lovely plant.”

The four of us took a walk up the hill with Sasha last night to deliver birthday treats to a good friend: Edwin’s homemade challah bread, my new favorite chocolate chip cookies made with oat flour and coconut oil, and a few false forget-me-knots, or Siberian bugloss (identity confirmed on PlantSnap) that have spread all over my garden that the birthday girl had admired last time she visited.

Usually, Sasha is the hold-up, insisting on sniffing every bush, street light, and fire hydrant. Not so this time. I stopped numerous times every block to snap a picture and check the identity of everything that caught my eye. I started quizzing everyone, too, and would declare with glee, “Nope! It’s a flame azalea!” and “Ha ha! It’s a SOUTHERN magnolia, not just a magnolia.” Why was my family putting distance between them and me? By the last few blocks, it was just Sasha and me, and we kept the perfect pace for one another.