Ep 256 - Lessons from Spiderwort and Crooked Trees

Join Mary Stone as she reflects on Spiderwort, a native plant growing in the wrong place; a conversation with a dear client; the wisdom of the song "Crooked Tree"; and a reminder that what appears flawed or out of place may have a purpose we cannot yet see.

Along the way, Mary shares a brief update on her vegetable garden, a surprising use for carrot greens, and a favorite story from The Lesson of the Leaf about a beech leaf that landed on her shoulder just when she needed it most.

Link to the Related Blog Post: Lessons from Spiderwort and Crooked Trees

In this episode:

• When Spiderwort becomes too much of a good thing 
• Why a troublesome plant may be exactly right somewhere else 
• The wisdom behind the song Crooked Tree 

"Spiderwort doesn't belong everywhere. But it belongs somewhere."

Thank you for sharing the Garden of Life. 🌿🍃🌳

Related Podcasts and Posts: 

The Fall of the Leaf – Blog Post about the Prologue to The Lesson of the Leaf

Ep 83. The Fall of the Leaf

Growing Belonging in the Garden of Life - Blog 

Ep 255 - Growing Belonging in the Garden of Life

Link to Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway’s song - Crooked Tree

More about the Podcast and Column:

 Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

 It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone 
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page

Transcript

Ep 256. Lessons from Spiderwort and Crooked Trees

Sat, Jun 13, 2026 6:09PM • 12:37

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Garden Dilemmas, nature inspirations, Mother Nature, planting annuals, spiderwort, foundation garden, pollinators, invasive weeds, Versa Ho, crooked tree, hospice, carrot greens, vegetable garden, podcast sharing, screen porch.

SPEAKERS

Mary Stone

Mary Stone  00:00

Mary, hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone, and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens, it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learn from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in. In the spirit of learning from each other, we have lots to talk about. 

Mary Stone  00:25

Hello, there. It's Mary Stone on a steamy screen porch. Oh my goodness, it was 90 degrees here in Northwestern New Jersey, and I am running on empty after planting annuals for a nearby client today, following two consecutive days of what I thought would be a garden tune-up, but turned out to be something far more ambitious. We'll get to that story in a moment, but first, I want to thank those who reached out after our last week's episode and column, Growing Belonging in the Garden of Life. Your notes and reflections mean more than you know. 

Mary Stone  01:00

One of the conversations came from Mimi, whose garden I was tending to this week. She had read the column and enjoyed seeing the blog version with the cover design for the lesson of the leaf. She surprised me with a question: Are you planning to dedicate the book to your brother, Bill? I paused. Honestly, I hadn't thought about it yet. As I reflected on her question later, it occurred to me that the entire book is really dedicated to the wisdom Bill shared with me all those years ago. The lesson he taught me continues to flow through my life, and I hope it will flow into the lives of others. I'm thinking that on the dedication page there'll also be a place for all the beautiful people I've had the privilege to sing for through hospice, and for the children of Comfort Zone Camp, whose courage continually inspires me. Funny, how one thoughtful question can stay with you. So, on to this week's story, and it starts like this. 

Mary Stone  02:00

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. For the past several years, I've helped Mimi with her small foundation garden in the historic village of Hope, New Jersey. Hope was founded in the late 1700s by Moravian settlers, and walking through the town feels like stepping back in time. Beautiful old homes, mature trees and a sense of history woven through every street. Her garden is small enough that it doesn't make sense to bring a landscape crew. So each spring I stop by, tidy things up, and plant the annuals she selects. This year's annual lineup included cheerful lantanas and shades of yellow and peach, miniature roses, giant zinnias with blooms nearly the size of tennis balls, some colorful coleus, and an orange-colored, daisy-shaped annual. I can't recall the name of.. I'll have to give Mimi a call and remind myself what that was. It's so unique. 

Mary Stone  02:57

What I expected to be a six hour tune-up based on the previous year turned into nearly 13 hours spread over two days. The culprit spiderwort, which is a funny name, isn't it? It gets its unusual name I read from the thread like sticky sap that oozes when the stems are cut. It hardens into silky threads that resembles a spider's web. The name is also attributed to the fuzzy flower buds and stems, which feature fine hairs that look like a spider's nest, especially when covered in morning dew. Indigenous peoples and herbalists use the plant to treat spider bites, hence the traditional suffix wort, an old English word for plant or herb, spiderwort is a native plant. There's Tradoscansia virginiana and Tradoscansia ohaensis. They have many wonderful qualities. They support pollinators. The flowers are lovely, and it absolutely has a place in the garden, just not in Mimi's garden, at least anymore. It had taken over entire sections of the planting bed, swallowing neighboring perennials. The peonies were nowhere to be seen, and the shasat daisies were so crowded out, and it created a tangled underground network of roots that felt like I was entering a wrestling match, the spiderwort had the home court advantage, that is for sure.

Mary Stone  04:26

 Day one involved cutting it all down. Day two involved digging up the roots. I brought my nifty Versa Ho from A. M. Leonard, who has provided horticultural tools and supplies since 1885 Their website touts I just love this tool, it works like a hoe, but it has a sharp hook on one end, and it can cut through the web, and the hoe part is curved, which allows you to scoop up what you tackle, pretty cool, right? And it was a tackle, digging, digging, pulling, yanking, pulling, yanking, digging. Oh my gosh, no wonder my back is sore, and at one point I wondered whether I was excavating roots from a nearby tree, as the roots are so substantial, but it turned out it was the spiderwort. 

Mary Stone  05:12

I loaded the roots and debris into my oversized garden tarp, the one that looks a bit like Santa's sack when you cinch it closed, and I hauled it home in the back of my trusty FJ cruiser. And here's where the story gets interesting. The very plant that had become a nuisance in Mimi's foundation garden may exactly be what I need in the sunny, boggy area of my own property, where invasive weeds have been gaining ground. As I was digging into more information about spiderwort and the environment that it loves to live in, my boggy area is going to be perfect for it. So I kept some of those roots and I plan to plant them. What a problem is in one place may become a solution somewhere else. Isn't that often true in our lives? 

Mary Stone  06:01

Mimi sat on the porch while I worked, and we chatted throughout the day about gardening, hospice, family, and life. I love that about the annual visits there. She's a retired nurse who spent years caring for patients in their homes and other places. We spoke about Joanne, Clergy from Karen Anne Quinlan Hospice, and how meaningful it can be when someone takes the time to sit, read, listen, and be present. Mimi was telling me how many times Joanne visited one of her patients who had dementia. Joanne would read from a children's book about Jesus. The patient who mostly slept roused and opened her eyes, and family members were there in the room too. It was so special, Mimi said.  

Mary Stone  06:48

as her conversation meandered through life's twists and turns. I found myself thinking about a song my hospice music partner and dear friend Ken Roberts recently introduced me to. It's called Crooked Tree, a song by Golden Highway and Molly Tuttle. I am enamored by the lyrics. The song tells the story of a crooked tree growing among straight trees in a forest. When the loggers arrive, all the straight trees are harvested for lumber to make toothpicks and $20 bills. The lyric sings, but the crooked tree doesn't fit the mill machine, so it remains standing, growing, living free. 

Mary Stone  07:32

The crooked tree lives out its days, while the straight trees are cut down for lumber, and I found myself thinking, how some of us take the road less traveled, like a crooked tree, not necessarily intentionally so. The lives we thought we'd have, the plans that didn't unfold as expected, the relationships that didn't last, the roads that swerved unexpectedly and blindside us from time to time. 

Mary Stone  08:01

While Mimi and I have traveled different paths, we share a common thread. Neither of our journeys with life partners unfolded according to plan. Yet here we are, grateful for our lives, grateful for the people who continue to walk beside us, grateful for the beauty that surrounds us. We may live alone, that is true. Although I have my furry sidekick, Jolee, but we are not alone. We are part of a much larger forest. The thought brought me back to a memory I shared several years ago in episode 83 The Fall of the Leaf. I read the prologue of the book in that episode, and I'll put a link in the show notes for those of you that would like to revisit it. It was a windy autumn day while on that road walk with Jolee. Leaves were swirling around me. I remember looking upward, hoping one would land in my hand. Then I stopped to take pictures of the flurry of leaves against the blue sky, just as I heard Bill's familiar voice in my mind reminding me to stop fiddling with my phone and enjoy the moment, a single beech leaf landed on my shoulder and stayed there. It made me chuckle.

Mary Stone  09:16

I tucked the leaf into my pocket and later placed it inside a mock-up of the lesson of belief. Some people call those moments coincidences. I like to think of them as little messages, God incidences, reminders, not necessarily answers, just reminders that we are connected to something larger than ourselves. 

Mary Stone  09:40

Before I wrap up, I have to give you a quick update on my vegetable garden. Can you tell I'm a little obsessed with my vegetable garden? My green beans sprouted, and the seeds left from a two-year-old packet of cucumber seeds sprouted, and that was a happy surprise. So, there you go. Make use of those seed packs, even if they're expired. One hill of the zucchini emerged, but the other hill appears to be sleeping, so I'll be reseeding that one. Nature always keeps us humble.

Mary Stone  10:10

 I asked last time if anyone knew if carrot greens are edible, and they are. They taste a bit like parsley with an earthy twist, and can be used in pesto, salads, soups, or sauteed like spinach. I want to thank you, Sally, for giving me the skinny. As I thin my row of carrots, I won't feel so badly knowing I can enjoy their leaves. Another reminder not to overlook something because we don't recognize its value at first, which brings me back to spiderwort and crooked trees that relate to ourselves. 

Mary Stone  10:43

Spiderwort doesn't belong everywhere, but it belongs somewhere. A crooked tree doesn't fit into the mill machine, but it survives in a forest culled for wood. The twists in our lives, the disappointments, the losses, the undesired turns, they aren't flaws at all. They are part of what makes us uniquely suited for the purpose we're here to fulfill. I truly believe that. Maybe what sidelines us today becomes exactly what we need for tomorrow, and with that there is hope. 

Mary Stone  11:21

So, I'm making a note to self when I said spider wart doesn't belong everywhere, but it belongs somewhere that may have to find its way into my book. What do you think? So, thanks for coming by and visiting with me on this steamy screened porch. I'm ready to get outside with my Jolee and let her run around a bit, and probably take a swim. It is that time of year. It's not officially summer, but it sure feels like it anyway. I want to thank you again for sitting with me, and I really would appreciate if you could share the podcast with a friend or two, so more can join us in learning and growing in this garden of life, and growing into the sense of belonging that that brings to all of us, it is such a beautiful thing. Enjoy the day. 

Mary Stone  12:07

You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden dilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas: Delights and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch. And always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.