How Plant Lovers Can Feel Isolated But Not Alone During Coronavirus
April 29, 2020 
I was not planning to write another piece about COVID-19. We are all worn out by the talking heads on the news, the political fighting (if the parties can’t come together on this, no wonder we have lost faith), testing, antibody screening, and statistics. Right now, governors and the White House are arguing about who is in control and when we should open the country. We have tweets from a playground bully about liberating states, and gangs protesting the common sense of social distancing. I suspect in a couple weeks’ time we’ll see several them on ventilators.
Maybe people are blasé because they are fine, their friends are fine, and they don’t know anyone who has been affected. Maybe the appearance of graphs showing cases and deaths every day have numbed people into forgetting that every one of those points is a person, with a family and friends. There are lots of things to be angry about — trying to keep your grandmother alive should not be one of them.
Isolation Doesn’t Have to Be Isolating
We had a six-foot party in our backyard recently. We invited two other couples to bring their chairs, snacks, and wine; we provided the lawn and the tape measure. We old folks felt a little less shackled as we drank wine, ate pretzels, and yelled back and forth. It was not much, but oh my, it was one of the finest get togethers we have had in months. Little things do count.
The next day our neighbor Valery and her fiancé Hunter resolved that this virus was not going to win. They decided to get married in their front garden with the minister six feet away and a few family members on the lawn cheering them from a distance. Across the street, friends and neighbors hooted and hollered, banged pots and pans, and made this wedding one that would be remembered as a little bit weird, but very special. We are all isolated, but we are not alone.
Times Are Tough; Gardening Counteracts the Stress
As for our industry, it is not getting easier. In some states, garden centers have been completely shut down while box stores down the road are open for business. Garden centers in Pennsylvania were shuttered but open next door in New Jersey. Yet everywhere I look, people are clamoring to be in the garden. They want to be outside, start some vegetables, create a little beauty, and simply feel good about something. Gardening is more than just a hobby. It is a celebration of all that is good in times where good is hard to find. Our garden centers and box stores are open in Athens, GA, and business is far better than I ever guessed it would be. We will not let this pandemic beat us.
As for me, I am on the offensive. My first plan of attack is to stay out of COVID-19’s way. It is cunning, efficient, and lethal. I plan to let it starve. However, I also attacked it on another front. I invited the country to join me on virtual walkabouts around my garden. I decided that if no one can travel from their house, I would invite them to mine. Through Facebook Live, I chatted with people in snowy Ohio, Wisconsin, sunny Florida, and Oregon. I aimed my phone at trees, shrubs, vines, perennials, and annuals in my small patch of green. Hundreds of people joined me as I shared my passion with them. I always knew what these virtual get togethers made obvious — that regardless of what politicians say, there is absolutely no doubt we are essential.
When German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote “That which does not kill us makes us stronger,” he did not have COVID-19 in mind. Every bone in my body is telling me that in this case, he will be proven correct.
I am no philosopher, seer, or leader. I am just one person doing his best to get through these times. I am optimistic but not stupid. I am impatient but not incensed, and while I may be isolated, I am not alone.
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