Elaine Nelson sent me the following message in response to my comments about trying to turn my lawn into a meadow (and about their ripeness to serve as the second term in a metaphor):

I’m getting ready to buy my first house, and was discussing garden plans (right now it’s a big square lawn, a good croquet size) with my mother-in-law. She is an avid and amazing gardener. (See here for a photo from her back porch.)

I mentioned my desire for a meadow in one part of the yard…she said to never, ever use those “meadow in a can” things; instead, get a few good specimens of self-seeding annuals (she mentioned poppies, yarrow, foxglove and daisies), dig a few holes in your existing lawn, plant these at 18″(?) intervals. Mow around them the first year, let the grass grow with them the 2nd year, and the third year you’ll have an honest-to-god meadow.

YMMV, of course, since this is in the Pacific NW, and with a larger yard, at that.

hmmm, but for metaphor credit:

Web:
tearing up the existing (end-to-end) structure [grass] and attempting to build a new (closed) structure is a mistake…the heartier structure will always attempt to build over/through the other one. the only way to build a smarter structure is to add in the seeds of smartness and allow it to take over gradually until it becomes its own end-to-end structure. [note that the plants recommended by Mom are all grass-like in both their hardiness and…can’t think of the word…spreadiness.] the stupid but catchy system wins!

or something. it seemed to me at the time to be a good metaphor of patience in general, waiting for nature to do what it does best. (which goes to the 2nd point: if your metaphor expresses a constant of human (or otherwise) existance, then it should certainly be applicable to multiple fields of human endeavor. then again, IANAP (where the P stands for Philosopher).)

So, I person I don’t know takes the time to craft a response that is informative, personal and thought-provoking. What a gift. Nice to meet you, Elaine.

Categories: Uncategorized dw