Plants and Herbs are like people

DH found a book for me at a local thrift store "The Magic of Herbs in Daily Living" by Richard Lucas, published in 1972. He got it for 25 cents. It is a great little book and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I look forward to buying some of the seeds and nuts and a few other things, after reading about them in this book.

We were not taking herbs for our health in 1972, I didn't even know about them except for using in cooking. I've been interested in them for 25-30 years or so now. We take several for our health and well-being.

Just this morning I read the following and thought it interesting to post for all who are gardeners.

"Over 50 years ago, the late Sir Jaghadish, used highly sensitive and delicate instruments to measure a plant's movements associated with shock, growth, and response to stimuli in general. Results obtained from these and thousands of other tests led Sir Jaghadish to draw the following conclusions:

Plants not only have consciousness, they also have their moods, their whims, their good days and bad. A plant struck a violent blow shakes and quivers in veritable agony. A plant yanked up the the roots experiences a shock comparable to that of a person beaten into insensibility. Each plant has a marked personality, along with racial and family traits.

Plants exhibit the same hopes, the same logic, and undergo the same trials as man, but in a lesser degree.

As every gardener knows, many trees and plants fail to survive after transplanting and die of shock even if their tissues are not injured in any way. Sir Jaghadish performed an interesting experiment in which he administered a chemical that acted as an anesthetic to trees about to be transplanted. He found they stood the relocation very well but some cases showed an apparent loss of memory and general state of upset, exactly as a man or animal would when coming out of stupor.

In recent years serious investigators have repeatedly demonstrated that plants will grow better and healthier when prayed over. In other words, you can pray daily that your potted plant, shrubs, trees, or flowers will grow luxuriously. You can speak to them in a kindly way, saying for example: "I love you, please grow strong and healthy," and they will respond to the energy supplied by your prayers and expressions of love.

Music also has a decided effect on plant growth. Plants subjected to heavy doses (three hours daily) of rock 'n' roll for ten days leaned away from the loud speaker, began to wilt and shrivel, then finally collapsed and died. By contrast, those treated to classical, semi-classical, or soft melodious strains produced healthy foliage and beautiful blossoms, and grew taller than plants subjected to nothing but silence."

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I had heard about some of this before, as probably some of you have as well. It doesn't hurt to have our memories jogged by hearing or reading information again.

I wonder how the traffic noises effect my gardens. Hopefully, the front hedgerow creates some sort of barrier and I think it must, because when pulling into our driveway I feel like I'm entering a different world. A somewhat quieter and more peaceful space. It is our haven, our home sweet home.

Now every time I prune, or pull weeds or transplant things I'll wonder how the plants are feeling. :-)

We all, in our personal lives, need pruning, have weeds that need to be pulled, and sometimes have to be transplanted for one reason or another. May we all grow and learn in the circumstances of our lives and in our own gardens.

Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL