It happens effortlessly all the time in an infinite number of ways. Nature integrates all living things. Every gardener knows this too. Like the above image of my Norway spruce and pawpaw planting there is no unwritten rule of good versus bad. It is good and better always.

The previous owner of my home densely planted 50 seedling Norway spruce trees near the edge of the woods. Due to the density and the ever encroaching forest it is less than half of what it was due to shade intolerance. For a while, I would prune the lower limbs trying to get as many as possible into the canopy. I planted pawpaw trees on the edge along with mayapple. That was over 25 years ago and now the trees are really moving out into the forest as a colony. The Norway spruce thrives on the edge in the light providing cones for the red squirrels, cover for the deer and protection for the mourning doves. It has woven itself into the tapestry of the forest along with the sassafras who found a few openings in the canopy created by the decaying and dead spruce. A few ferns have seeded in and I added a couple too. It’s a makeover of what was once my garden enriched with horse manure. Today my garden still exists here as a mosaic of potatoes, sunchokes, lilies, yucca, sedge, buffalo grass, Miscanthus, Wild oats, cup plant, mockorange and honeysuckle encased in a bit of green bishops weed each filling in an area that was once highly tilled and amended. It is too shady now for a real garden. No peppers or tomatoes are possible.

I like the Norway spruce tree with its sweeping branches and long cones. Once when I was pruning an apple orchard, I noticed some extremely large spruce trees in the far distance on a hill. After I was done with the job, I drove over to them realizing it was a cemetery. They were huge Norway monoliths towering over the tombstones embracing all who resided there. Surrounded by open fields, these trees had a view of the world on this hilltop of both human and natural events. If trees could talk there would be much to discuss. Their form, persistence and grace tell a story on their own. No need to ask. Just witness as it is. One cannot do without the other. We need it all.