OREGON S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE
The news has been a bit rough lately—
to put it lightly. Natural disasters, nuclear
meltdowns, dictators declaring war on their
own people, an economy beyond gloomy. We
all know I could go on with that list. To be
honest, it has simply telt overwhelming. I’ve
needed a place to ground my dreamy Pisces
nature in all of this unease, and I’ve been
grateful for a gentle warming and break in the
rain to take refuge in the garden.
The garden has been a place I’ve come for
calm, creativity, mindlessness, and it’s been a
place for healing when our dog, Wink, went
blind last June. Signs of her old self began to
return when she grew excited to be near me as
I picked carrots—her favorite treat—or care
fully maneuvered through the garden to the
peas for her afternoon snack. I would see her
tail wag, the sadness I felt at the loss of her
sight melted away and I joined with her in
celebrating all that grows from the earth.
So it only made sense that I return to the
garden with the recent global disasters to
gather myself and hold it together.
This mood lifting isn’t just my saying so,
either. Researchers have recently found that a
bacterium in the soil, Mycobacterium vaccae,
spurs the body to produce serotonin. Dr.
Chris Lowry of Bristol University has docu
mented an immune response connecting the
cells’ release of serotonin when mice were in
jected with M. vaccae, generating stress-free
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A New Mindset
Meditative Therapy and Eating My Weeds
BY LEANN LOCHER
Popweed! Also known as Cardamine
Oligosperma, also known as my
favorite new salad addition.
mice. What does all of this mean? Contact
with soil is a good thing, and getting dirty re
ally can make you feel better.
With my new mindset in tow, I set out to
weed the other day. I bet you know what I
was after, because they’re in every Portland
garden right now—that sweet little white
flower masquerading as a simple bloom. But
if you let it grow? It explodes into a million
seeds popping here and there. Thus, its com
mon name, popweed. It’s also known as Little
Bittercress, and while we’re at it, in Latin it’s
known as Cardamine Oligosperma, of the mus
tard family.
Usually I curse at Cardamine Oligosperma—
but not this year. The act of gardening is a
process, and even weed pulling is an act of
meditation. Instead of cursing at the weeds, I
remembered what I had read recently of my
popweed. In some native areas of California,
APRIL 1. 2011
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Back to the zen....
As I pulled popweed after popweed, I
stayed present in the moment. I no longer was
cursing my weeds but found myself thankful
the season was changing and it was warm
enough for them to grow. Instead of bemoan
ing how much more I had to pull, I felt the
rhythm of finding, pulling, plucking and
dumping them into my bucket. I found peace
at a time of news earlier that day that radia
tion from the nuclear reactors in Japan was
much worse than originally reported—and
while my heart hurt for so many and for the
earth, I was grateful for that moment, there in
my garden. Finding, pulling, plucking and
dumping. Repeat. And in this rhythm, I
coined you some popweed haiku.
I see you, my weed / Pop pop I hear you
explode / Multiplying, more.
Popweed my popweed / You grow prolifi-
cally / To pull endlessly.
Spring has popped, you too / Little Bitter
cress so sweet / Your name denies evil.
So maybe that last one wasn’t quite so in
nocent, but just the mindful practice while
gardening opened a door of calmness and
serenity. Those are things the world could
use a little bit more of right now. And spicy
salad, too. JK
it’s actually welcome and provides good bal
ance to the soil. But the real zinger? It’s edible.
That über common weed in your garden
makes for a tasty addition to a salad. When
picked young, popweed imparts great flavor
and isn’t bitter at all. It’s bold, like a spicy rad
ish. I suggest you add a wee bit to your salad
mix and savor the revenge of eating such a
prolific weed. Pop, pop, pop, indeed—pop Have a haiku or ode to a weed? Id love to hear
right into my mouth.
it. Email LeAnn at sassygardener@gmail com.
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