Planting Edmonds is a monthly column by and for local gardeners.

As I was walking through my garden the other day, I passed by a young tomato plant. To my astonishment, it said, “Psst! Hey buddy! Howz ya doin? Could ya wet my whistle – I’m parched. Anudder ting – how about dem Mariners? Doze bums can pitch AND hit this year.” I was surprised it could talk and even more surprised that it sounded like a New York mobster!

Well, plants in your garden really do “talk,” just not to you. Why should they? Plants were on our planet about 130 million years before animals, so they had lots of time to develop complex relationships with the other organisms present at that time, like fungi.

Garden plants used to be viewed as isolated individuals, each one receiving inorganic nutrients and water from

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