Survival of the fittest

“If a man has but two coins, he should take one and buy bread, that he may live, and with the other, buy a rose, that he might have a reason to live.” (-old adage I heard once)

Yesterday, we spent the day digging through tangles of roots and tough clay to make holes for roses we wanted to plant. Gangly, out-of-control pampas grass roots impeded our progress, so it took us almost the entire day. Why is it that ugly plants are always strong and deep-rooted? I had blisters on my hands (through leather gloves) from yanking away at the roots of those grasses that resembled neurons, twisting and turning beneath the ground.

We had hired men to come and yank out those grasses, and they came armed with muscles, shovels and a backhoe. But the grasses were originally planted around the boxes for cable and phone lines, so we had to attack the problem with delicacy so as not to disturb the natural balance of things electrical.

We gently placed rich, loamy soil into the hollows we created, hoping to encourage the beautiful flowers we planted. The whole time, I found myself wondering if the remnants of those grasses would also thrive on the dirt and care we were giving the roses’ soil. How to quash one plant while nourishing another in the same place: ah, there’s the dilemma.

Who knows what they will do? If the grasses do attempt a repeat performance, (which we anticipate they will) we’ll meet them head on with a vengeance. They may have met their match in us. We don’t give up that easily. As Ben Franklin said, "Energy and persistence conquer all things."