You arrive in the garden one morning and discover that a tomato plant is missing leaves and stalks are chewed. Before you seize the hornworm to squash it, you notice white sacs on its back. So you leave it, sacrificing a vine for the row. Those are the eggs of a Braconid wasp infecting the hornworm and which will produce more wasps. That hornworm is feeding a beneficial predator that protects your tomatoes.
We add sacrificial plants to divert pests and protect our crops in the garden, set aside planting space for marigolds to serve as companion plants and to attract pollinators. Sacrifice makes our garden richer.
As gardeners, we should practice the same in our lives. Take time to walk each day to give the eyes a different horizon. And, and to move. Join a book club or group for activity and conversation. None of these things directly benefit our jobs or titles, but, like our garden, these sacrifices are necessary and enriching.
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