"Think Like a Plant" says Evelyn Wolf of "Garden Possibilities...  http://www.gardenpossibilities.com

I heard her say we should ‘think like a plant’. Hmmm.  What she meant, is that plant life is a circular cycle.  A plant has only two goals: the first is always- to produce seed - always.  The second is to survive.

 Mark Cullen says that when we see a large mass of pine cones on the top of a conifer, we need to think back to its life almost a year previous.  If there was  a drought, or some other crisis, the tree goes into survival mode… not survival of itself, necessarily, but of its offspring,  namely the seeds from those cones; and it goes into production mode so that if the tree does not survive, its seeds will.  That is very unselfish - don’t you think?

In the fall of the year, plants will have pulled all the nutrients they can from the air, water and soil and push them down into their roots.  They are storing up for a cold winter. This is why I don't cut much down in the garden in the fall.  I want all that green to go back to the roots.... even my roses.  I cut back the extra long branches so they won't break in the wind, but I leave the severe pruning  until Spring.

Did you know that plants do not die in the winter? They are merely dormant - sleeping.  There is most likely more going on under that pile of snow than you or I could imagine.

I really like that idea.

But more about that later.