Native Gardens 2

Frank! Bring out some iced tea. For the little pregnant lady!

We don’t mean to bother you on a work night.

So did you know that all the houses on this street were built in 1908?

Really —

It’s beautiful. It reminds me of my parents’ garden.

Very European.

The Horticultural Society judges come by this Sunday.

This Sunday?

Oh no.

We were coming over to talk about replacing the fence.

Replacing the fence?

By Saturday…for an event we are having.

You want to replace the fence this week?

I’m sorry. Paula, this isn’t going to work —

One day that stupid Whitefield stepson just put up that cheap garish thing.

Oh, so it’s our fence?

English ivy is potent if used defensively.

(laugh).

But no matter what I do, Phillip Saxon doesn’t have to contend with a disheveled wire fence.

Well if you are okay about us cutting away your ivy, we could get rid of the wire fence.

I’m so relieved you are “on board” with this.

(laugh)

On his knees. Meticulously.

Wow. Is it me or does your yard look bigger than our yard?

I spray for bugs.

You use pesticides?

Tania is an avid gardener too!

My grandparents owned a small farm and I’ve always loved playing in the dirt. I’m so excited about owning a yard.

I’m happy to help you become a serious garden contender.

Oh, thank you, but your gardening might be too…ambitious for me.

You mean your future disaster!

Disaster?

It’s so dangerous.

But. We. Love. The Tree.

Really?

Really.

Oh Ginny. You will need a professional tree guy, of course. Posthate.

It’s a healthy tree. We had that inspected before we bought the house.

And we get your leaves and acorns. All over our lot.

The tree is the centerpiece of our plan for a Native Garden.

Native Garden? That sounds very exotic.

Actually, it’s very traditional. We want to go back to the basics, get rid of foreign plants like Bermuda grass, and English ivy, and nurture a native Mid-Atlantic forest bed.

Which is better for the environment.

Native plants feed the right bees and bugs, the right bugs feed the birds, and so on. We, the Individual Gardeners of America have the opportunity, or dare I say, the responsibility in helping ensure biodiversity in our gardens. We can help save the planet.

My. That’s a patriotic call to action.

I have some books. Written by brilliant entomologists. I can bring them to you.

So…you are suggesting: No azalea? No peonies? No hydrangeas?

No Japanese honeysuckle, no Asian azalea, no kudzu, no Bradford pear; no autumn olive.

Blasphemy!

But there are beautiful ferns, mulberry, Virginia creeper, Caroline silverbell. Low-maintenance greenery that’s high-output and low-impact.

You mean, weeds? You are planting weed, on purpose?

A lot of plants we think of as weeds are actually native plants and they have a purpose.

Isn’t their purpose to be ugly?

(laugh) That’s a misconception. Native plants can be quite arresting.

— So that your yard will attract more bees and bugs?

Yes.

Fascinating / Crazy

Do you listen to NPR? National Public Radio?

We’re old, not dead.

NPR had a great segment on Native Gardening. You should listen to it.

Are you all vegetarian?

No —

Is this Native Garden something that springs from your rich Mexican culture?

It’s a gardening philosophy developed by entomologists.

It seems so rooted to a Mexican connection to the earth. There must be something there.

Except, we’re not Mexican.

I’m from Las Condes Santiago, Chile. I did boarding school here.

And, I’m from…New Mexico.

That’s why we thought you were Mexican.

That’s so interesting because I’m American. I don’t even speak very much Spanish.

She can swear in Spanish.

Maybe you imagined the accent?

Maybe, it’s just that you look so Mexican.

That’s what people tell us.

And drug trafficking. Illegal immigration — and that wall business.

I don’t know Mexico very well.

But you are Mexican-American, aren’t you?

In a sense, yes…but…Frank, where are you ancestors from?

England, mostly.

Do you introduce yourself as English-American?

Of course not. I’m a New Englander. From the Northeast.

See? I’m New Mexican. From the Southwest. But people think of me as much more foreign than you.

I on the other hand, am Polish-American. I like claiming the old country.

My family has been in the same region for over 200 years. Where I am from was originally part of Mexico, then it became part of the United States. We’ve been Americans for generations. We never immigrated. Yet because of how I look, my nationality is always in question.

She is conducting some identity experiments. For her doctoral dissertation in anthropology.

I am interested in origins and when we claim them and when we stop. The power of language and place. Native vs. foreign. Especially in a country as complicated as the U.S.

A wealthy New England blue blood and a blue-collar Polish girl from Buffalo.

This complexity is what makes us all…American.

Actually, if we nitpick: You are Estado Unidense: United Statesean.

True.

Oh c’mon, everyone refers to us as the Americans.

That’s true too!

Except I’m Chilean. And you three are United Statesean.

(laugh) Yes. So Paula is the only foreigner here —

Are you fighting too?

No, she’s fine.

More tea?

I think I’ve had enough caffeine and sugar for one day, thank you.

Those darn bugs! And more to come…

Spiders will help with the mosquitoes. You’ll see.

A pleasure talking with you.

And thank you for allowing us to trim your ivy.