Don't Offend Your House Plants

Psalm 1:1, 3
“Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season….”

A few years ago there was a lot of publicity about people who claimed that their house plants did better when they were talked to. Many experts thought that this was a silly idea since plants are very low, comparatively speaking, on the (imaginary) evolutionary scale. Research eventually proved that plants which were treated to music, especially classical music, did indeed seem healthier.

New research has convinced many scientists that plants also have feelings and memory. Researchers carried out their experiments on the bur marigold, which typically sprouts and immediately produces two identical leaves. Scientists made several tiny needle holes in only one of the leaves and then, after only five minutes, they removed both of the leaves. Later they removed the top growth of the young plants in order to force growth from the buds adjacent to the leaf sites. As a result, the plants tended to show growth only on the side where the undamaged leaf had been.

Further study has shown that, while plants do not have a nervous system, they do have a chemical communication system which works something like memory!

We certainly must marvel at our Creator’s care in giving even plants feelings and memory. And then we are reminded that if He has taken such care in creating and caring for plants, how much more must He care for each and every one of us!

Prayer:
Dear Father, I give You thanks that You have made me in such a way that I can hear and believe in Your grace given through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help me to see and know Your personal care and love for me every day of my life. Amen.

Notes:
Photo: Smooth Beggarticks (bur marigold) being pollinated by a bombyliid fly. Courtesy of Pollinator. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.