From the horse’s mouth Botanical Society of America
Hm, I don’t think I like labeling people as “plant blind” like it’s their fault. I’d rather label certain people as “plant aware.”
That would be me, BTW. I can tell you things about two almost identical plants that most people would never see.
rowrrbazzle, thanks for that link to the more complete fleshing out—wait, I mean Leafing out —of the term. Here’s the more direct link for anyone who’d like to read it. At the end, the authors work toward a solution of better education. Quite worthwhile, to my mind.
And thanks for the answers here, it helps me to understand how others approach the Green world. I most certainly am blind to Plant blindness…not a snob, though. A big part, and the most enjoyable part, of my job is to help people see what I love about plants, and the world, teaching how to bring that into their own lives through gardening.
romansperson
That’s a case in point, really, the Baptisia species, a plant that is now having a chic spotlight as an attractive ornamental native plant, and very drought-tolerant. So why don’t you see it everywhere for gardeners to grow? Because it takes a few years to get established (and grow as a nursery crop). It’s not being “lazy”, it’s just doing what it takes to be drought-tolerant. It spends two years growing it’s taproot, like a carrot, so that it is secure and able in it’s place. Once that has been accomplished, the baptisia/wild indigo is ready to get it on with the above-ground world, and throws out a lot of flowering shoots. From now on, it’s rock steady, and will get bigger by leaps and bounds every year, and won’t require much attention. (L’il lagniappe: next spring, when it blooms, watch the bumblebees on the flowers: they have to force them open, then there’s this sweet moment when the bee flies off, and the doorway petals quiver and then close in slo-mo. Always makes me smile.)
Your other question, well, my nursery specializes in the wild and wooly, native plants, which are getting more in the fore now with attention to sustainable gardening. There are native plant snobs, too, though, dontcha know. I’m in the middle, and appreciate all kinds of plants in their right place. I like stuff that grows, with an eye towards invasive problems. I’ll end with a link to one of my favorite coHorts, Felder Rushing, whose teaching motto is “Lighten Up !”
If anyone still wants to comment on the OP, thanks; Plant Blindness is an interesting concern.
I don’t. I’m fairly proud that the coleus that twickster advised me to get about a year ago is still alive. (so are a Rex begonia and an arabian jasmine…though both of them have had some close calls. Some small something or other didn’t make it.) I firmly believe that had it been a baby or puppy that I’d gone that long without watering, it would have cried or something…the plants just wilt and wait for me to notice that they’re turning brown or something. Like that happens.
I do recognize their importance in our environment. I just hope you all know that I can’t be trusted to remember to water the Amazon.
It’s not easy seeing green.
I wish I were more educated in flora and fauna. I can’t tell one tree from another, I know aesthetic differences but I can’t name them. Same with most plants etc.
I had the odd honor of recognizing more plants in Ecuador than in a recent trip to North Carolina. I suppose I suffer from regional plant blindness.
I’m very plant aware, both in my own yard and surroundings but am especially conscious of the different varieties while we travel. I guess I’m considered the neighborhood expert. Everyone seems to come to me for advice and the other day one accused me of having way too good of a time, of smiling too much, whenever I prune trees or work in the yard.
As an infant, my daughter learned her colors when daddy carried her around the yard, stopping at every flower and saying its name. Years aftwrwards, I’d still find little handfulls of flower petals clustered around the yard where she’d collected and left them. For she and I, going to the nursery is still one of our favorite daddy/daughter bonding traditions together. We look at all the stuff and decide which will work best where and then plant and maintain it together. Watching a child build an arrangement in a planter pleases my soul to its very [del]core[/del] roots.