As I walked down the driveway to begin my morning walk, I gazed into my garden seeing which friends had bloomed this morning. A rose, a delphinium, and the lavender is close to blooming. The day lilies…oh, wow! They are about to burst forth in their orange-yellow glory.

Once my feet made it to the main road, my heart sank. Someone had sprayed the bank in front of my home with herbicide. I looked across the street and up the street–no evidence of spray. It seems my neighbor’s gardener kept on going up the road when he sprayed their yard. At least it was isolated to one area on the roadway.

There is no grass in the rocks that line the roadway, just little plants that struggle to hold the soil. I felt sad because I value these important plants that anchor the soil in place. Frustration also arose because I do not broadcast spray poisons on my property.

So what’s the big deal? State highway departments spray millions of gallons of poison on roadways all across the country. Power companies also spray millions of gallons of toxic chemicals under power lines because it is cheaper than mowing or hand-clearing. But does that make it right?

My dislike for herbicides, pesticides, and insecticides goes beyond the obvious risk from using these chemicals (honey bees could teach us about the potential risks of chemical use). When my father was a farmer he was exposed to strong chemicals used on crops. He would come home and his clothes would be saturated with the toxins. Many years later he developed mysterious symptoms that worsened over the years. Doctors never figured out why he died in his early 40’s. By the time they did toxic-exposure blood work, all traces of the compounds had left his body. But the damage progressed.

I don’t know what my dad would say about the use of chemicals in our world. I believe he would caution us to read labels, spray sparingly and to refrain from using them if at all possible. My brother and I practice organic gardening because we saw what chemicals can do to a strong, healthy man’s body and life. Why do we think dumping millions of gallons of chemicals onto roadsides will not have consequences? Or the gallons we dump every year into our yards, our gardens? On to the food we eat.

I sent an email to my neighborhood asking people to be mindful of two things: 1) Chemical use has an inherent risk and we really do not know what continued use does to the environment and ultimately to us; 2) Everyone doesn’t use chemicals on their gardens. In fact, some of us want to work with the Earth and honor all plants and animals.

If the roadside in front of my home gets unruly, I trim it. If my garden has plants that I would rather not be there, I remove them by hand. I let insects have some of my rose blossoms to munch on. They always leave some for me to enjoy. Practicing organic gardening doesn’t make me better than people who use chemicals nor does it make me a better gardener. When I choose to work with plants and insects instead of just destroying them, I feel my relationship with the Earth grow stronger. Being aware of all life surrounding me helps me feel connected to nature, to the Earth. I grow in mindfulness as I take the time to understand how each and every plant, animal, insect and human has a place on the planet. There is value in every part of the living system we call Earth.