Finally, The Green Team Takes the Field

Select states ease COVID-19 restrictions and allow the horticulture industry to return work.

The Green Team:

This week, Michigan is one of those states where the Governor is allowing those of us in the green industry to begin our season. The response from garden centers, landscapers, lawn care, grounds, and garden care is a feeling of being released. We know despite the hold on business operations nationwide, that grass, weeds, greenhouse, and nursery plants do not stop or slow down but SURGE this time of year. In many of the Great Lakes states, we are fortunate to be experiencing a cold spring which has helped slow growth and hold some plants in check.

No longer frozen, regarding the restriction, we unite and sing LET IT GO!

The beginning of the week no doubt saw trucks and crews peeling out of drives and squealing tires as they hit the roads to get back in the landscape and the garden shops opening with a Hallelujah chorus. Well, perhaps not everyone shared the same level of enthusiasm, but it is safe to say the green teams answered the call and are back in action. The safety precautions we are taking with sanitation, personal protection apparel, and social distancing are awkward, but considering what we’ve all been through, certainly understandable.

The Surge Occurs

This has always been one of my most favorite seasons. No time of the year is there such a rapid explosion of plant cell growth. This surge is visible as we spot new plants emerging, buds breaking, flowers opening, and shoots extending. In previous months with much of the landscape under snow or void of green growth in winter, we have resorted to stock images or images shared from colleagues when highlighting our plants of distinction. This week I returned to work as a horticulturist and took pictures of plants in active growth-mode that we’ve highlighted in past blog postings. Despite our absence, predictably the botanical world is progressing well.

WNGD (World Naked Gardening Day)

Growing up on a farm with horses, we always celebrated the first Saturday in May by watching the Kentucky Derby. Though actively practicing horticulture for over 35 years, I was unaware that World Naked Gardening Day (WNGD) celebrates that date as well. For some reason, the practice never caught my eye, not even a peek. When asked if I would be promoting the event in a posting, I declined. With a reasonable understanding of our blog readers and followers in the horticultural world, we sense WNGD is not a good fit. We are more practical and recognize modesty as a good thing. Considering how we actively engage in landscape and garden work, working in the buff would not be wise or even safe for that matter.

The concept reminds me of a strange billboard oddly posted downtown in a large city, “Never Weed-Whack Naked.” Probably a clever marketing approach by one of the manufacturers of string trimmer and outdoor equipment. For those of us who-whack-the-weeds with powerful string trimmers, it got my attention. When operating a typical gas-powered Stihl trimmer, your pants become shellacked with shattered weeds and you’re pelted and stung when you unavoidably hit unseen gravel that fires off the high-speed, spinning head. The ludicrous idea that forewarning is needed to avoid the job without clothes is humorous but made me wonder if someone actually tried. Now I assume it was a faithful participant of WNGD who kindly alerted us to the hazard and for that, we are grateful. Even though the Kentucky Derby has been rescheduled to September due to the pandemic restrictions, I will still pass on participating in World Naked Gardening Day. I will garden though, and at day’s end possibly celebrate with the traditional mint julep and be content and comfortably clothed.