Last week at Interlochen, during the annual Collage concert, the combined Intermediate and High School Choirs performed "Make Our Garden Grow" from Bernstein’s "Candide." It's one of my absolute favorite choral works.
But this time, I really listened to the lyrics:
The sweetest flowers,
The fairest trees
Are grown in solid ground.
As I gazed out at our stately pines, it struck me: Interlochen is, essentially, a sandbar. Our white pines are not growing in solid ground. And yet they thrive in nutrient-poor, shifting sand.
They thrive because they’re adapted to do so.
White pines send down a deep taproot to reach moisture far below, but they also spread lateral roots wide to hold them steady. Still, roots alone aren’t especially good at absorbing water and minerals in such poor soil.
That’s where their secret partners come in: mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi form a symbiotic relationship with the trees, extending far into the soil to gather water and nutrients, while the tree reciprocates by supplying sugars produced through photosynthesis.
And though we call pines evergreens, the needles don’t last forever. Most drop after three or four years, creating a soft carpet that protects the roots. The fallen needles break down slowly, but eventually return their nutrients to the soil.
So yes, nutrient-rich, stable soil is ideal for making gardens grow. But here at Interlochen, the sweetest flowers and the fairest trees are flourishing, rooted not in solid ground but in our ubiquitous sand.
