COMMENTARY: urbiphytes unite!

Searching for a very basic way to explain ‘xeric’ to recent transplants (people), an older edition dictionary led me to another word: “Xerophyte, a plant structurally adapted for life and growth with a limited water supply esp. by means of mechanisms that limit transpiration or that provide for the storage of water”. Also listed were xerophilious. xerophytic. xerothermic. and xeric. All are fantastic words that describe plants and touch on two key ideas: low water use and their ability to have adapted to extreme conditions. While the dryer conditions described in Webster’s definitions were expected, the specific focus on ‘adaptation’ was somewhat of a surprise.

Growing up as a city girl, and east of the Mississippi, the laws of nature that rule in the desert were so foreign. Having been here now for 15 years, I still recall that living in New Mexico didn’t seem that different from living on the moon. But over time, adapting to dryer conditions has been a positive – though initially reluctant – process of learning to appreciate the more subtle qualities of a desert existence. The delicate landscape has become a source of inspiration and a cause for rejuvenation, where seasons are not tortuous but opportunities to experiment. It occurred to me how I had gone through the very same process as that plant type to which Webster referred. The ideas of change and adaptation can be so challenging that it is easy to forget the great rewards that accompany such transformations.

As coordinator of a new membership-based not-for-profit supporting challenged urban gardeners, this concept of welcoming change and encouraging adaptation (creativity) is a key to reaching disenfranchised urbanites, ie. those who have lost connection with their true environment. Finding a clear and simple (not simplified) way to explain all things gardening is critical, and must demonstrate importance to their quality of life. At Gardeners’Guild, we feel that if citizens understand the reality of growing populations in their environments, more will act with these concerns in mind. Visited by many curious tourists and gardeners who have recently relocated to the area from more moist climates, a few words of careful encouragement with the most basic of drought-conscious growing tips can carry the arid climate novice pretty far. And as a person who has found plants later in life, I can attest to the role an individual can make to spark an interest, and trigger dramatic changes in our communities. At Gardeners’Guild we are rewarded with cognitive light bulbs on a regular basis. My point? When it comes to gardening, as individuals, we can make a difference. And I’ve learned that like myself, each person is potential for a new plant and a better quality of life.