Master Gardener^sm Column for the Week of January 17, 2005
Charlie Spencer
Brunswick County Extension Master Gardener^sm Volunteer

The following was submitted by Charlie Spencer who enjoyed the article enough to pass it along to all of us, written by Francis Rupp, Gardening Correspondent, Beltsville Garden Club.

Many gardeners are addicted to visiting garden centers and nurseries and greenhouses in search of plants, trees, shrubs, annuals, and houseplants. They shop and compare prices but are never quite sure what a plant is worth. The problem is some sort of valuation is placed on the plant. We try to figure out the worth or value of the plant in comparison to another source of supply. To some extent that is a reasonable approach.

The plant is just setting there in a little pot patiently showing its leaves and its flowers but is not saying a word. It is waiting to be picked up, examined; maybe have a discolored leaf pinched off. Maybe that one plant is being compared to another similar one. There is lots of indecision on the part of the buyer of the plant. This is a nerve wracking process. Does the plant have good color? Is it healthy? What about its shape? Symmetrical or lop-sided? What about the size and color of its bloom? Will it adjust to a new garden? Will I be satisfied with this plant? Will it add to or detract from other plants I already have? Will it grow too quickly or will it wither and die? Do I know how to care for it? The buyer has a hundred thoughts running through the mind.

Of course, if you are buying a plant from a reputable source, you can always ask questions and expect some solid advice. If you are satisfied with the answers you get and the price you pay, then you know what the plant is worth. If a plant is half the price of similar ones and you don’t like it, it is of little value to you!

The plant itself is helpless in this situation because it is just sitting in its little pot, not saying a word, but being compared, evaluated, stared at, pinched, spun around, and having questions asked about it. I wonder if the plant has similar questions about the buyer. Is the buyer healthy, in good shape, symmetrical or lop-sided; will the buyer adjust to me, will I fit in with the other plants, etc.? That is absurd to consider, of course, since that particular plant doesn’t think, it can’t speak, it has no feelings. It is simply a plant. The plant can’t wonder what the buyer is worth or whether it will be care for.

The next time you are shopping and wondering what the plant is worth, give a little thought to what you will do with it and how you will care for it, feed it, water it, and so forth.

The plant is worth whatever you make of it. Its future is in your hands. Why should we try to figure out what the plant is worth? On second thought, maybe we have it. The plant is worth what the gardener is worth.

Send your gardening questions or comments to: Brunswick County Master Gardener Column, P.O. Box 109, Bolivia, NC 28422, or call (910) 253-2610. Enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope if requesting information or a reply. Answers may be printed in this column.

For further information or assistance, please e-mail:
Charlie Spencer, Brunswick County Extension Master Gardener^smVolunteer

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Date Created 1/10/2005