I have some things that I want to say, but I think that I'll go here instead, because it's a deeper truth and it's less volitile.
I have been contemplating, and have shared to some extent the process by which a seed matures and grows. Here is the place where I can best explore it as a whole concept.
When a seed is released from a flower or fruit, it has become hardened. There is an outer shell that protects the life within until such a time as the outside conditiuons are proper for it's gremination. The dispersal of seeds takes many routes from consumption to being taken by the wind or wave to the far reaches of the world.I read once that coaconuts spend two years at sea before they germinate, washing up on a shore distant from their point of origin.
When I was a little more involved in landscaping, we used a product called "groco" that was made with sawdust soaked in the exhumed product in a honey bucket and patuerizeduntil the bacterias had become inert... but the tomatoe seeds did not. Their hull was designed in such a way that it requires i suppose the heat and the acids in a digestive tract to soften them and encourage them to grow. Major parts of an elephants diet prosper because God designed their diet to coincide with the seeds needs and when the elephant is done with the seeds, they are planted in some really great compost.
Lotus seeds have been germinated after sitting for a thousand years. This past summer I had the pleasure of germinating some lotus seeds. I don't know how old they are, but I had to put them through a process called scarification. I used my best pruning snips to cut a line along the side to weaken the outer hull. Now this process is necessary for a number of exotics, bird of paradise for one, and I'll get back to the lesson learned there in a moment.
I then put the seeds in an appropriate container in a shallow pond and got excited as the leaves broke the surface. Now the question will be whether or not they can take the winter.
Now the bird of paradise- I still want one of these beautiful plants, but here in Washington they are a bit cost-prohibitive to me. They are sold only as a house plant because we have unruley weather. Anyway, I followed the directions, I planted them in sand after soaking them in water for a couple of days and I got nothing. I tried to scarify one with a plier and broke it open- it went fungal.
Lesson?
The life inside the seed must be coaxd out, not forced, not helped. If you break the protective hull it will be susceptible to disease, and rot. If you peel away the outer layer the plant will be weak because it didn't have the adversity necessary to give it the strength to survive. My lack of patience has caused me to lose out on enjoying some extreme beauty.
Another side to this, I have a friend who has four volunteer plants in the fromt flower bed. I pay attention to this bed in particular because have done some work in this bed. I didn't see these plants in there before and we haven't been able to identify them. The hope that we have is that you will know them by their fruit... where have you heard that before?