Report From PIA – April 7
Yesterday I got a press packet for a new book on Boston parks and green spaces. Included in this mailing was a package of forget-me-not seeds. There was no botanic name on this package, so I don’t know for sure that these seeds were for Myosotis scorpioides, the true forget-me-not. No matter what they are, I cringed. You see, Myosotis scorpioides is banned in Boston, and the rest of Massachusetts.
Whether this packet does indeed contain M. scorpioides seeds or a forget-me-not substitute, it’s clear that something slipped through the cracks. As someone who wants things to go perfectly and at the same time has dropped the ball and made mistakes a number of times in life, I think that this mistake is both regrettable and understandable.
We do the best we can, but nevertheless things get by us. I’d like to think that if I had a staff assisting me in my business, garden and general life that things would go perfectly smoothly. Yet this press release reminds me not to make that assumption…the author has a publisher and publicists that are there to promote a book about the capitol of Massachusetts, and yet no one picked up on the fact that the seeds they’ve used to promote this publication are illegal in this state.
We are imperfect beings, and should be forgiving of each other. Still, it’s important to reach toward excellence, isn’t it?
I would love a garden where every detail was attended to, and things were as perfect as I, the gardener, could make them. In this garden, had I been able to have perfection, the potted plants would all be in Italian terra cotta, not plastic. I'm not complaining, or beating up on myself... I'm just saying that there is always room for improvement, whether we are able to reach perfection or not.
