My friend the Master Gardener shows me
how to properly transplant the wee ones we

brought home yesterday, which makes me
realize that I’ve fumbled through the process

for decades. I do know to gently remove
the immigrant from the only home it has

known, to loosen its roots and admire
the delicate tendrils dangling like curly hair.

I know to dig the hole deep enough so that
the newly arrived one sits level with the soil.

But I didn’t know about sprinkling the chasm
with compost and mixing some with freshly

dug earth, too. I didn’t know that a few drops
of good liquid fertilizer mixed into a gallon

of water provides a nutritious first shower.
Best of all, I learn this plant whisperer’s secret.

On her knees, patting dirt firmly into place
around the settler in its new location,

where it will, with luck, root and thrive,
she offers the simplest blessing:

“Welcome home.”

•••

(Again, my thanks to my plant whisperer friend and teacher, Lindsey Holloway.)