Confessions of a Plant Geek's Wife - #1: I Don't Get It

Hello plant lovers!  The plant geekette here for a little surprise guest posting. :-)  Every now and then I'm going to poke my big nose into the DBH world and give you a little taste of what your friends and family may be thinking as you pursue your planty desires.

I want to start off with this little phrase that I'm sure has crossed your acquaintances' minds, even if they were courteous enough not to voice it:

"I don't get it."

Now this can encompass several different thoughts in reference to the plant world.  To start off with, for me, it was like... plants?  What's the big deal?  What's so lovable about a plant?  I mean it just sits there.  Well, okay, and it grows.  And sometimes they have flowers or they produce fruits or vegetables, but okay great... what's the big deal?  Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate a plant.  I have like 4 "official" favorite flowers, and I'm ready for our veggie garden to take off so we don't have to buy so much produce at the grocery store.  And yeah, I even considered growing up to be a landscape architect, so maybe there was a little more plant geek in me than I thought.

But what is it that attracts us to plants?  Is it superficial, in that we just want them to make our house look nice?  Is it practical, in that we want to grow our own food or shade our homes so our energy bill is lower?  Or is it deeper...  Is it the awe of seeing a tiny little thing like a seed become a ginormous monster of botany?

Okay, so that didn't get quite ginormous, but you get the idea.  From a little acorn to an oak seedling in just 8 months... and you know what it will be eventually.

(Source)

Okay, so maybe I don't do get it a little bit.