Nature’s Nook
By: Dot La Motta - 02/09/24
Certified NC State
Master Gardener Volunteer
Issue: 1Q24
“Come forth into the light of things.
Let Nature be your teacher.”
~William Wordsworth
Welcome to Nature’s Nook where I’ll be briefly sharing seasonal gardening tips, prompts, poems, quotes, and stories, and how to incorporate them into your writing even if you are not an avid gardener. Gardening gives us the unique opportunity to observe the wondrous lifecycle of plants. From a tiny seed full of promise to a fragile seedling to its glorious blooms, and generations of new seeds as the circle of life continues.
Even though we are in the dead of winter, you can never get enough of nature. It’s all around us. It’s quiet, noisy, cold, warm, wet, dry, beautiful, and even ugly at times. Nature communicates with us through wind, rain, snow, ice, sun, clouds, and every living thing on earth, in the air, and under the ground.
Winter’s blustery winds, rain, and frosty mornings are a good excuse to browse through catalogs and garden magazines and start reading, planning, and ordering. Though the soil may be dry and crusty, now is a time for dreaming and visualizing your garden.
TREES
Trees are the oldest, tallest, and largest living things on the entire planet. The USA has more than 850 species of trees than in all of Europe.
Before you purchase a tree, know what planting zone you are in so your garden will survive and thrive. As a guide, eastern North Carolina is in Zone 8 and safe to plant a garden between May 1st – 15th. Western North Carolina is in Zone 7 and is better to plant after May 15th. Trees however, are best planted in the fall because the shock is less than in the heat of summer, watering is less as the cool weather slows growth and the root system continues to grow giving the tree a head start for next spring.
If our planet were without trees, it would be the end of life as we know it. Trees are a source of food, shade, fuel, cooking, furniture, lumber to build homes, boats, tools, musical instruments, and a million other things. Learn about the tree you like before you purchase it. Know what mature size it will grow to, if it requires partial/full sun, its lifespan, and how to care for it. Most trees will outlive humans except those that are fast-growing or diseased.
TREE TRIVIA
Poplar trees: 30-50 years depending on species
Maples: 100 – 300 years
Oaks: 100 – 150 years
Redwoods: 500 – 700 years, and up to 3,000 years
Long Leaf Pine: 250-450 years
Magnolias: 10 – 80 years
Bristle Cone Pine in Calif: 5,000 + years
Leyland Cypress: 20-25 years
WRITING TIPS
Start with a blank page and write one word on it. Use ‘Trees’ as an example. Think about what you can write using the examples below by transforming a single word into a picturesque vision for the reader. Have your reader care about who or what you write. Connect them emotionally to the topic you chose. Use the lifespan of a tree vs. the lifespan of humans or animals.
* Past, present, future….
* Good vs. bad
* Wants vs. needs
* Fresh vs. stale
* Giving vs. getting
* Life vs. death
* Slow vs. fast
* Strength vs. weakness
* Sweet vs. sour
Create an intriguing story or poem around these elements or weave them into a scene, conflict, or experience. When walking or hiking focus on a particular tree’s strength, beauty, and physical differences to someone in your life or an experience to share.
Use any of the following words as a prompt and write about their relation to nature. e.g. Fire, snow, ice, food, wine, love, flowers, children, creatures, etc.
Use one or two lines from the poem below and create your own poem or story. Have fun with these suggestions.
TREES
By Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)
I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear,
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
