Mikaela Martinez Dettinger - Eisenberg, Gardens, and Houseplants

 Evan Eisenberg's Ecology of Eden touches on almost every aspect of the human - nature and human- wilderness relationship. Thus far in the book (up to Ch. 20), Eisenberg has spent a lot of time discussing how the human relationship with nature and wilderness is exemplified in gardens. He describes gardens as being a search for Arcadia, the perfect paradise that is a mix between the human comforts of civilization and the bounty of wilderness untouched by man. Eisenberg further argues that gardens can never truly achieve this ideal of Arcadia because they inherently degrade the integrity of wilderness by taming it for human comfort. Furthermore, Eisenberg points out several cases in history where gardens are used as a method of escapism. They allow mankind to ignore the destruction of wilderness by creating a faux connection to the environment that is dictated by what humankind wants to see and experience rather than the truth. 

With this background in mind, I found my self staring at the plants I care for in my dorm. A spiderplant, an aloe plant, a few succulents, a pothos vine, and a strange unnamed plant gifted to me which I have yet to be be able to identify. I brought these plants with me as a reminder of the time spent gardening with my family. During my time at college, they have often acted as a reminder of the nature I love when it feels like Warwick Boulevard is a dividing chasm between the natural world and myself. Eisenberg has made me look at these plants differently now, rather than a reminder of nature they seem to me a barrier between myself and wilderness as their place in my dorm is a reminder of the aspects of the natural world that are difficult to experience here on campus. I have never seen any of these plants growing in the wild, only in gardens and pots. Furthermore, it is even difficult to know what plants would grow wildly here as CNU's gardening is based upon precision and aesthetic. While the Noland Trail provides some relief from this suffocation of civilization, it is still not wilderness. Its trails are made accessible for all people. There is rarely a time that the bird songs of the inhabitants of the park can be heard over the cars rushing down Warwick right outside of the fence or the chatter of the masses flocking to one of the few places available to connect with nature in Newport News. After reading Eisenberg and contemplating my own relationship to the natural world, my beloved houseplants no longer represent my ideal connection with nature, rather they represent a relationship bounded by human dictation of nature and plants. I'll still enjoy caring for them, but now they serve as a reminder that there is so much more of nature to experience.