Indeed, that is one of my only regrets about the relatively brief span of the Human life....
while in the prime of health, we labor to distraction in the Field of Life...but seldom are we blessed
with the energy to Harvest, and enjoy, that which we once sowed.

Philosophically, the sprouting of a seed and the nurturing of a plant is a great act of Faith.
We can only hope that our love of green things transmits to future generations....and we can only
hope that they retain the knowledge and capacity to bring to fruit that which we began.

In the End, no plant will endure, no stone will remain unturned.
If you knew that every seed in your garden would fail, would you plant the garden still?
I would, and I do.

Josh

Hello Mike....Great points to ponder...

Josh...I do as well..."very well said"

I do ponder this as well, sometimes when I'm planting my Palms...since they take so long to grow...some ask for seeds, and I think how long they will take to grow to a half way decent tree...How old will I be?

Then, When I'm at work doing what I do...I am working with so many wonderful people up in the friendly skies...especially haveing a soft spot for the ederly, showing them just a little tenderness and really listening to them makes them feel like someone really cares...Life does fly by very fast for all of us...we learn from our elders and need to share with our peers...

Maybe your friends know that they will never see the beautiful blooms...so they would rather past them on to someone whom they know will love them as much as they do and will appeciate them and take good care off them...It probably gives them great joy knowing they will be wanted!!!

That's why I always take the time to be kind and show the older generation my thanks...to many people are in to much of a hurry to stop and smell the "plumeria!!!"

I don't usually go soft at work...but one day I had a WWII
Vet on Board heading to Philadelphia to visit one of his buddies from the war...I had to stop and think, this gentleman had to be in his eighties and he is still traveling and happy to still be here. I started to ask him some questions and his face just beamed with pride... I had the whole airplane give him a round of applause at the end of our flight (and I said a few words about the greatest generation) and it made me feel great...although I could hardley see...LOL... it touched me, and it really touched him, as well as everyone on that plane that wonderful fall day!!!

Life is very short, enjoy your friends, families, and your favorite flowers... Life is good!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

Laura in VB

Well said, Laura!
Thank you for your wonderful reflections.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Josh

Well said everyone. Even if I won't live to see the trees we planted mature, someone will and someone will appreciate them. It's not just our plants we outlive. To me the saddest part of an obituary is when they list the pets. How do you explain to a dog that he is losing his home and his pack? Our parrot is in the will, he'll probably outlive us both.
Then again, you never know how long you'll live or what will happen.
Live it like you mean it.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!
Tally HO!

Hi all, WOW....
this thread is different....deep thinking......
there are many reasons for growing plants and having the ones we have....I treasure the plants I get as gifts and cuttings from friends...I research them and see what they can grow into and yes I will never see some of them at their best...and I hope someone will take them and keep them growing and maybe think of me as the one that started it and passed it on...
when my hubby and I moved into our home, we had a big lot to fill with trees and plantings...and family and friends wanted to help..and I am still working at it...one day a neighbor came over and was asking about different plants in my yard and where I got them...as we walked about my yard and I told him the name of the plant or bush I also told them who gave it to me....he thought it was pretty nice that many of the plants were associated with someone I knew...I told him that in years to come they will be my remembrance of thoses that had giving me the plant...
I take care of the plant and the memories.......
I hope this wasn't sappy....
to everyone have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING........
linda

Life is very short! When I was a child, I had an aunt that always used to say "Life is like a roll of toilet paper... The closer to the end you get, the faster it goes!" I never really understood that until recently!

Mike, it IS sad. I think at one time or another, we think our demise will come. It's not only the elderly who have these thoughts. There's accidents and illness to consider, it seems more and more people are contracting certain cancers at young ages.

Did you ask the length of time these men/women grew plants? Hopefully, most started at a young age, got to see slow-growing and rare cacti and succulents mature and flower at least once in their life.

Paul, when I was 15, wished I was 21, my father said, "once a person hits 18, times goes by fast." At the time, I thought, RIGHT..Now I know, he was correct.

Growers who have family and good friends, people who love plants, pass their greens down the line..Some sellers on Ebay have 100-yr-old Christmas Cactus. Don't want to mention names, but someone here on GW had a 104 or 106 yr old CC.. Unfortunately, it is now in plant heaven.

Mike, your story broke my heart..Toni

What a sad but GREAT thread at the same time...Very thought provoking posts. I know how some of these people feel. With my DH's job we move a lot...so plants/trees that I planted over the years, I will never see...the fruits of my labor I won't be able to enjoy. I can only hope that someone else is enjoying them and appreciates them.

Sad, indeed. I'm in the second half of my life, and hope I can find someone who will take care of my plants once I go to that Great Nursery in the Sky :)

In the mean time, I can't help but think how cool it is that we can grow plants from Madagascar, from China, from South Africa, just to mention a few places around the world. I feel privileged to grow all these plants, and seeing how they develop from year to year, even though I won't see many of them as mature plants or in flower.

But whenever I'm down, I just go into my greenhouse and sunroom, and am again delighted.

I guess my point, if I have one, is that maybe what's important is the journey and not the destination.

-R

I think -R hit it on the nose; well said there.

I happen to be an artist (textile designer, quilter) & often think about exactly that; that the end product is usually nice & interesting, but it's more often the journey & what's known in the art world as the 'process') that's the most interesting, from which one ends up learning lots & lots.

Yes, Mike that can be sad, but I choose to put my focus elsewhere.

Like -R, I wish to focus not on what I won't live to see finish growing, etc., but on all the magical, wonderful plants we get to see, & if lucky grow & own. From bizarre & otherworldly landscapes to the simple but spectacular Haworthia limifolia, which looks to me like living sculpture (& was my 1st love in succulents).

Not to oversimplify things, but really, isn't it all about where one chooses to put one's focus?

No amount of my sadness or regret will change the inevitability of things (I say today, w/ more than a hint of sadness on what would have been my Dad's 81sth Birthday, except that he died 3 yrs. ago, sigh).

I also prefer to expend my energies on that which I can contribute to (if not actually control) rather than on those things the control of which is completely beyond me.

While I can't change the world, I can certainly choose to change or modify my reaction to it.

In the 18th-19th century the attitude was: plant the Oak you will never see mature: the succeeding generations will see it in its glory and be thankful for what you did.

We've perhaps lost that sense of doing something for the people of future.

Small plants though, are not like a tree, you have to find a caretaker for those little gems...I look at my Aloe dichotoma, surely it will be quite magnificent before I must leave it, but I wonder if it will have the very long life it deserves. Will the next landowner trash it? Sell it as a specimen? (that would be better) Or will this neighborhood be razed and replaced by apartment blocks (eventually maybe) and a few thousand years from now an archeologist will find bits of a dried A. dichotoma when going through layers of rubble.

This is how it looked for 1/10 of a second on one of the over one and a half million sunsets this plant has seen:

{{gwi:472207}}

I wonder if the guy that planted it is still around to admire his work?

Yes, I believe the planter is still admiring that one....

Josh

I grow my plants for the next generation to enjoy, I want to leave some thing for them when I am no longer here. Many species are leaving us as well, we need to same them for others. I am will have a grandchild by the end of this year, I want something he can have. I have already found a home for mine, and I still buy new ones with that in mind even though I won't be here to see it flower, the next generation going to the Huntington Gardens will, Norma

My parents are in their 80's. Dad takes care of mom with alzheimers. He's incredibly active but only able to do so much in a day being the total caretaker he wants to be. He prefers to be in total charge of her and his home on his own. Wish I had 1/2 his energy. Extra's of all things are gone, life has been made simpler. He's always had lots of plants in his many gardens and many houseplants but all have been downsized to simpler care plants. It's much more fun to have what you can take care of healthy and happy than to try to keep up with what you had. He's adapting his lifestyle. I've noticed he's filling these gaps with trying a few things he hasn't had the chance before or has put off. Possibly some of your friends are also doing that. He's not losing interest in things, he's gaining interest in things he has yet to do. Change can be a positive experience. Example? He may have gotten rid of many houseplants but is trying his first orchid with much success. He sold a car he doesn't have the large blocks of time anymore to restore and purchased his first four wheeler to enjoy.....gotta love him :)

Norma, What a wonderful thing to do! I'm sure many people in the future will enjoy your thoughtfulness :)

After the 1900 storm the citizens of Galveston had a massive island wide planting after the Seawall was constructed. Those plantings were enjoyed by generations of islanders and visitors. Hurricane Ike killed about 90% of our trees. Trees are being replanted like crazy, we won't be able to enjoy them but others will in the future. I like knowing that when I'm gone my palms will still be here.

My friends from the plant trades will take our plants when we no longer can care for them. They will be shared and a little piece of us will travel and spread happiness.

Old Gardeners never die, they just compost.
Tally HO!

My dad literally wants to be buried in his garden, beneath the roots of a peach tree....
I've tried to convince him to choose a longer-lived tree, but he has his mind made up ;)

Josh

Josh, can a person's final resting place be other than a cemetery?
Burying family on property used to be done, but I wonder the legality of it nowadays.
It's should be a persons choice where they want to be, not the government. I believe IL states a person must be buried in a cemetery..if a family doesn't have the funds for a private wake/funeral, the departed are buried in a state cemetery.
In the meantime, Funeral Homes are making big bucks. This topic upsets me...
When my MIL passed away, 'and a few others,' the funeral directer acted like a car salesman..they tried talking family into spending insurmountable costs. The guilt trip. 'If you love the departed, you will buy the most expensive casket, etc.'

When I go, I plan on donating my organs, then cremation. No expensive burial. IMO, it's a waste of money.

God, this topic is depressing, the day before Thanksgiving to boot. :(

I was just curious if a person wants to be buried near his home-place, etc, if it could be done. Toni

On the 4th of december, I'll be flying to california to spread my grandmothers ashes. We've been waiting 2 years for my sister to return from Iraq so we could all go together. I've never been west of the mississippi so I am very excited to see where she had grown up. I never really got to know her because she was diagnosed with alzheimers when I was young. I've been collecting c&s for about 7 months now (yes...addicted) and I just leaned that my grandmother was a collector as well. Even more cool, my mother gave my grandmother a jade plant 42 years ago. My grandmother cared for it for 20 years then moved and gave it to a friend. My mom got into contact with her and we're goin to meet up so I can get some cuttings of my grandmothers 42 year old jade. Maybe when I'm old i'll be able to pass them to my family. Also, all you cali people. We're flyin in to san fran, she lived in monterey and half moon bay. I was wonderin some suggestions for gardens to visit or good nurseries to hit up around the area. We'll be there a week and I have to drag my parents to a couple. In any case, Keep growin till the day you die, Someone will Always enjoy the little life youve taken care of so well. You WILL live on through anything you create. I'm 27 and I already have a few plants I know i'll hold on to until the end. On another note, i am lurkin the local nursery. They have a 27 year old gollum jade I might buy off of them. It's about 4ft tall, maybe 3ft wide and very bushy. I could trim for days. Very tempting. 100 bucks?? We'll see what santa brings me.

Toni, it ain't legal...not by a long-shot! ;)

Squishy, I'm sorry for the solemn occasion that brings you out West, but I think you'll find California
to be pretty intoxicating.

If you're in Monterey, you might as well visit the Aquarium and Pebble Beach.
In Monterey, you can see big 'Hummel's Sunset' Jades planted hedge-like near the sidewalk.
I wish I would have snagged some fallen limbs the last time I was there.

Also, HUGE clumps of Aloe arborescens grow right along the coast.

Josh

Hi Toni,

It'll take some research, but I believe there are no some 'no-frills' cemetaries where one can be buried on plain, unmarked ground, w/ plain stones & simple, pine coffins.

Don't know how/where to look this up, but recently saw a documentary on this topic, eco-friendly burials.

We had my Dad cremated several yrs. ago, his only concern was to be w/ his family, we didn't know if he wanted ashes sprinkled or buried (even that takes money). We didn't put up a stone yet, but felt it appropriate to his wishes that we bury his ashes in his family plot w/ his Dad & Granddad.

On the upside, all this discussion of remains led my Mom to decide to be cremated & have us sprinkle her ashes at one of several botanic gardens in NYC which give her daughters such pleasure. It's a good feeling to have the question resolved.

I find it liberating to have these decisions made. (I've privately always wanted to be sprinkled, half here in NYC (some botanic garden maybe), other half in Rio de Janeiro (where I was raised) off the mountain of the statue Christ the Redemeer. That way, I could still be in both places I love!!)

A whole lot of amazing people here..:-)

Mike

what a thread, thanks to you all for sharing, I have been reading every word, very interesting....
someone asked if you could be buried in your own back yard.
a friend of my sister, her husband passed away, and he wanted to be buried in his back yard because he was a gardener and loved his yard..what she did was she bought a new rose bush and but his ashes in and planted the rose with him and no one is the wiser.
I have always said I would like to be cremated and spread in the Mississippi river...so that I can travel...:)
linda

Jumping into this discussion late, to get back to Mike's original post, I would say the "old timers" picked the wrong specialty if they want quicker gratification. Many succulents and cacti live for centuries. Look at the Saguaro. If one was purchased at one's birth, a person might die of old age before it grew a single arm.

I certainly don't grow succulents indoors in expectation of seeing them as mature specimens. I grow them for the pleasure they give now, not for the promise of tomorrow.

Christopher

I choose to enjoy my plants when I can. I live in China now, so I have a good friend who is taking care of my collection for me. I have him send pictures during the growing season.

I am trying to figure out which ones of my relatives are into c & s, so I can decide who to 'leave' my plants to.

I start most of my plants from seed, including saguaros and pachycereus pringlei. So I have no hope of ever seeing them grow arms. I plan to be cremated and thrown into the Atlantic off Maine along with my dog's ashes.

I can't validate, but I believe VT was one state that took up the issue of being buried on private property.

The school I teach in was on a former cemetery. The bodies were dug up and moved somewhere else. China has a very large population and cemetery land is being reclaimed for second uses. The government is encourage people to consider 'green funerals' such as cremations and burial at sea.

The whole area was once a rural village. Traditional Chinese want to be buried in their traditional hometowns, so many want to be buried here. Where do they bury them? Along the median strip of the boulevards under the electrical towers. Last Christmas, I saw one burial right out side the school gate. Coffin and all, along with one guy digging a hole and the other lighting off firecrackers (the ever preset firecrackers). I was told there was another funeral yesterday. You see mini cemeteries along the roadside. Walk along the road and you'll probably bump into a grave.

Maybe I use part of my ashes as a growing medium for my pachys or pachypodium rosalatum!

Hey Mike,
I've been growing plants for over 60 years and I've heard it all, but they know where to come for a free plant. :>) I just ignore the nay sayers. In fact my favourite part of horticulture is propagation.
Ron