In Seattle, people hibernate in winter, but it’s the opposite in the South. Winter can be beautiful and active. Summer makes you stop, sit in the shade, go to a movie, or read. Or write.
Covid Lockdown Summer turned the world upside down. Plant orders rolled in. But hypocritical politicians “streamlining” the U.S. Post Office hurt our small business and made our work twice as hard. Writing time evaporated. The only thing sitting on the porch and relaxing around here was my book.
As I worked, I tried to put the book’s arc and themes together. Driving a tractor ‘round and ‘round a field has always been good story-writing time for me. Chatting while gardening is great too. I could test transitions and run ideas by Tom, and our small crew in an informal setting—a hot, uncomfortable setting where honesty flows freely.
Even though I couldn’t focus on a computer, the book gelled. I came to see it as a rags-to-riches story like Cinderella. But not about castles or monetary rewards. More like The Bad News Bears or James and the Giant Peach, where the riches came as recognition and cheer-worthy rewards.
It would be about oddball gardeners with plant obsessions. People who looked at society and thought, “The rest of the world is crazy. I’d rather be with plants.”
They didn’t fit into society, so escaped by delving into their plant passions. But as the hobby of gardening became popular, their odd passions made them in vogue and respected by the folks who’d once ostracized them. In short: People grow when they grow. In the 90s, I met, befriended, and learned a lot from these folks as I delved into my new job, developing a vision for and constructing Riverbanks Zoo’s new Botanical Garden in South Carolina.
I had a story about my friend, an old closeted man who told me about furtive sex in a certain camellia garden. And one about an atheist, feminist. There was a story about racism in Southern gardens. I wanted these stories to teach powerful lessons.
I’d need more help with that. While I worked digging bulbs or cutting hay fields, I made a list of anthropologists, historians, and peers I should interview to make sure I got those lessons right.
All that had to wait. Shipping bulbs was twice as hard now because politicians were gutting our primary delivery method, The United States Post Office. The ‘ business-oriented reforms’ doubled the work of small businesses, especially those that sold living things. The New York Times story titled Rural America Faces New Worries with Postal Crisis included an interview about how our bulb business had suffered.
My stories in this book might seem like history. They spanned from the 1950s to the 1990s. But we were selling plants to a lot of new customers who wanted to learn to garden. There sure seemed to be a lot of people in today’s world who could identify with the theme of the book, “Most people are crazy. I’d rather be with plants.”
Right now, I was with plants all the time. I had to find a way, during this lockdown, to call on, talk to and learn from professionals outside of my field.
A couple of odd-ball gardeners bonding with the spectacular vine, Campsis grandiflora ‘Morning Calm.’
We all probably been more productive if we hadn’t been convinced we were going to die. USPS did though. :(
One wonderful thought provoking story after another. Can’t wait.