a bowing acquaintance with plants
In her 1893 gardening book, To Know the Wild Flowers, Mrs. William Starr Dana wrote about the many benefits of being on “a bowing acquaintance with flowers.” This reminds me of my grandfather. As a child, I often accompanied him on walks down the native wildflower trail in his garden. There he would pause, slowly bow over a plant and introduce us—always using the plant’s formal botanical name. Even in those early days, I’m quite sure I knew that plants had personality.
