- Nature Notes by Marlene A. Condon
- October 1. 2024
Many folks view the natural world as something of no real significance to them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nature provides our life support system as we travel around the sun and through the universe upon spaceship Earth.
Space travelers in manufactured spaceships always need to bring along oxygen. Without it, a person will not survive. You should remember this fact the next time you observe weeds coming up between plants in your flower bed, in bare lawn spots, or even in the cracks of a sidewalk. Consider their value and perhaps leave them be.
Plants fill in empty spaces not just for aesthetic reasons but to ensure the proper functioning of the environment that supports all life. Nature abhors unused space because it’s not productive. So, it’s a good idea to embrace those violets in the lawn and those dandelions in your flower bed. This variety of plant growth on your property supports a variety of organisms, making your personal part of the world more healthful for you and your neighbors.
You should welcome a variety of critters on your property so they can work for you. Pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, flies, wasps, and many others, fertilize your crop flowers so you can obtain food. Slugs, snails, and some kinds of flies and beetles break down and recycle your plant debris and animal remains to make fertilizer available for new plants in the next growing season.
Birds, for instance, play a crucial role in maintaining balance. They eat many of these small organisms, which helps to limit their numbers. An overpopulation of any one kind of organism harms the ability of other organisms to survive. Natural resources are limited and therefore must be shared.
The same idea applies to plants. When bunnies eat some of your flowers, these cute mammals — adored by children and some of us adults — are limiting plant numbers to prevent overcrowding. Overcrowded plants or animals end up diseased — Mother Nature’s mechanism for reducing the overpopulation of organisms when other control measures have failed.
If you dislike certain animals because you fear them, learning about the critters in our world goes a long way to helping you coexist peacefully.
For example, you may fear getting stung by bees and wasps, but you probably realize we need them to pollinate plants to provide fruits, vegetables, and nuts to eat, and so we can get honey from honey bees. To live in agreement with these insects, follow this basic rule: Pay attention to your surroundings whenever you are outside among plants so you don’t inadvertently touch a bee or wasp or get too close to a nest.
Remember, these animals are not interested in harming you because they could get injured or killed by attacking you. Therefore, they behave defensively, just as you would do if you or your offspring were about to be injured or killed.
If you respect nature, nature will respect you.
Marlene A. Condon is the author/photographer of The Nature-friendly Garden: Creating a Backyard Haven for Plants, Wildlife, and People (Stackpole Books; information at www.marlenecondon.com). She writes a blog at https://InDefenseofNature.blogspot.com/
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