Here nestled into the leaf litter of a farm road I drive over, a small apple tree has sprouted and taken root. This apple tree might be considered an accidental visitor or a plant out of place for some but for me it’s a revelation filled with latent possibilities. I started saving these so called “out of place trees almost all of which came from parent trees at my farm. I saved seedlings from my neighbors landscaping too. Being in the middle of the road has its disadvantages so I will likely move it to the side. I like plants not in rows. It’s a forest with precision planting skills of birds, squirrels and other small mammals. Even the deer play a role with their perfectly designed hoofs.

As I discover more and more seedlings I soon realize the tree farm is planting itself into the future. As I carefully prune back other trees, limb them upwards and cut back to the ground other plants I soon have my three story agriculture. I am guiding it to a more edible future by giving light to these seedling plants and getting them outside of the browse line of deer. It is never native versus exotic. There are no invasive plant species. That is entirely a fabrication to begin with. One plant helps the other while I quietly participate in this ever widening and diverse world we live in today. The plants are truly a reflection of all cultures. The values become:

• Restorative

• Regenerative

• Integrative