Vanishing Species

Vanishing Species

      Aspects of my gardening have some similarities with species being driven to extinction. In earlier essays I have talked about the dirt I mix to place plants in. The constituents evolve over time as I learn and think of options. Unfortunately, that puts me at the mercy of the availability of those items.

      On the azalea email list people have touted one item or another for garden use, and when I respond that I can't find them anywhere, the answer comes back: “They're everywhere!” After checking, I find that they are sold in their region of the country, but not mine, even though the company has stores in both areas. Online shipping is prohibitively expensive for heavy bags. So, in practical terms, you can't get there from here.

      Similarly, items in my mix are common, until they're not. Organic humus used to be everywhere, but now I have to drive for ½ hour on the interstate to get to a place which has it. Pine fines were easy, until no one had them. A small shop 45 minutes away had all I could carry and, of course, they went out of business. I started using an expensive substitute. Recently pine fines reappeared, just down the street.

      Last month a big-box store nearby had a lot of pelletized gypsum (which I use in my mix for calcium). The trip today discovered only one broken bag. I declined to take home the shrunken, dirty mess. I should have asked the manager to tape the hole, and sell it to me at a discount, but I had other things to do. Who knew how long those negotiations would drag on, in an attempt to save 50 cents?

      We've all had experiences where a favorite ice cream, barber or auto mechanic has disappeared. How long can I continue to depend on the environment of retailers in my area to sustain my preferred mix of soils and chemicals? It's a constant struggle, and I understand the plight of remnant, threatened populations. Thinking about substitutes should start now, but if the substitutes were perfectly good, I would have used them in the first place.

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers, from the Florida Museum, U. of Florida

      Vanishing species suffer under disappearing habitat and climate, both of which are requirements for their survival. Coyotes have disappeared from the east, but the claim is that they have been making a reappearance. However, they are not pure breeds, but crosses with wolves and, sometimes, domestic dogs. The originals are gone. Ivory-billed Woodpeckers have vanished (unless some rumors in the conservation community are true: that a remnant population has been found and is being kept a secret). They might be repopulated with the Cuban variety, but would still be slightly different, and the actual species would have vanished. There is no substitute for the Dodo and the Passenger Pigeon. Extinction is really forever. And, no, a real Tyrannosaurus is not coming back, despite “Jurassic Park”. OK, that might be a good thing.

      The difference between the vanishing species and my vanishing soil mix is that the latter might be improved by a switch of ingredients. A subject for further experimentation. The downside to those experiments is that it takes three years or more to be able to judge whether the new version is better, worse or the same. During that time I may have to drive four states south to find pine fines, but maybe I can stop along the way and enjoy someone's garden. Or find an Ivory-billed Woodpecker!