Garden perspectives: by Janice Denney

I read an online post recently where participants were arguing over a range of topics such as heirloom vs. modern cultivars, introduced vs. natives, invasive plants vs. a new wave of climate change tolerant plants.
The interesting variable that was the elephant in the room was time. What period of time are we looking at here? Some plants have naturally cultivated new areas by seeds being carried on the wind, in a flood or on the legs of two and four legged creatures. There was an old lady arrested back in my days at OSU for growing marijuana. She had absolutely no idea what she was growing, the seeds came from a bird food mix she had bought!
I attended a lecture years ago that was showing support for the idea of human migration through the Pacific Islands based purely on the archaeology of middens or basically, the garbage areas of the peoples. The level at which certain plant remains were found showed how long ago that plant first arrived in the area. Each successive move to a new home took those plants to new islands.
As long as humans have recognized certain plants as necessary for food, medicine or materials needed for life they have collected and transported them on their migration to seasonal or new areas for habitation. The concept of only one place for a specific plant to belong is a very short term way of looking at the question.
There have been recent discoveries of previously cultivated grape varieties native to North America that were widely used in early viticulture then were lost to more popular European cultivars. These newly rediscovered vines make very good wine and appear to be very tolerant of climate change.
So, before you get caught up in hours of arguing over right or wrong practices in the gardening world, step back a pace or two and look a little deeper into the conversation. It might inspire you to do a PhD in the complex relationship of humans and plants.
Janice Denney is an I.V. Garden Club board member and associate director for the I.V. Soil and Water Conservation District.