Outside my favourite Community Cafe,
there stands a large ashtray tub. It is approximately 1.5 meters
diameter, and 1 meter high. Solid with earth. Similar ones in eyeshot
do have some rather plain looking shrubs.
With a flash of inspiration, I decided
to plant – something. I cleared the cigarette ends and watered the
large tub well over a day or so. What to grow? Fast and easy? Mustard
seed worked well in biblical times.... So, some were planted and
watered. Fast growing! When I looked round again, there were sprouts
appearing. Well, almost. This was when the existing occupants of the
ashtray made their invisible existence known and they were apparently
hungry. Though never at times when anyone was looking at them!
The mustard sprouts got fairly quickly
munched. Presumably much better tasting than cigarette ends. More
please! With a subsequent greater weight of mustard seeds applied,
the invisible hungry mini critters were either satisfied, or looking
for something less hot than mustard leaves.
Thinking ahead, I mused that even
though some of the Cafe customers and passing locals expressed
interest in this 'agricultural' initiative, it might be useful to
also plant something more conventional. That is when the pansy
(flower) seeds were used. I soon discovered that these were 100 times
slower than mustard seed. Imagination helped.
The local council – street lighting,
cleaning, and trees and flowers – were prompted by the Cafe manager
and were good enough to also water this tub when they regularly
watered other ones nearby.
Time passed. The vegetation still
seemed a bit thin so I found even more mustard seed, in some
quantity, black type, sold for the benefit of the soil – farming,
cultivating etc. This also grew energetically. The pansy seeds had
sprouted by now, though were still very shy.
At least the cigarette ends were not
coming in so fast! The mustard was certainly now a flourishing bushy
cluster and soon would be showing some of its tiny flowers. The pansy
plants were now, I think, waiting for next year. But at least, the
mustard was making a proud showing, if a little unruly, as apparently
mustard is wont to do.
Then one morning, the sun rose over a
suddenly, strangely, almost empty tub! What had happened?
The Cafe manager HAD told the official
Gardener that 'Hey there are pansy plants there!' and the response
was a 'reassuring' It's OK. I'm only clearing the weeds!
Hello, to Ashtray Street once more! It
keeps the pavement tidy at least. It was the stuff of comedy,
depending on the way you could tell it. Upon reflection it came to
mind what ARE 'weeds' ? In nature there aren't any weeds, just
things growing. And I suppose it had been a long long time since our
friendly gardener had grown mustard and cress on his window sill for
fun and to eat.
With a broader view, it occurred to me
that if we see our job as truly only doing one single minded thing,
then our whole planet might easily become a giant ashtray? Mmm.
There IS good news. During this
horticultural exercise, it was learned that officialdom had decided
to offer the tubs to the nearby shops, to adopt! Maybe someone was a
bit telepathic?
Happy days!
Happy days!
