The Wisdom of Wildflowers: Reflecting on Dolly Parton’s Timeless Song
In this Quote of the Week, we explore Dolly Parton’s iconic song "Wildflowers" and its moving lessons on grit, growth, and finding room to bloom.
It's been almost a month since we lost Dolly Parton, but the tributes and memories are still pouring in. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more universally-loved and sincerely missed public figure.
It'd be easy to gush about Dolly's musical genius or her incredible work supporting children's literacy, but plenty of other writers are doing that. This is Gardening Know How, after all, so I want to talk to you about flowers. Wildflowers, to be precise.
Wildflowers Don't Care Where They Grow
Welcome back to Quote of the Week, where I pick out garden-related celebrity quotes and examine the wisdom behind them and the impact they can have on our lives. This week's pick isn't a quote, per se – it's a whole song.
In 1987 Dolly Parton wrote the song "Wildflowers" for the album Trio, a supergroup endeavor she recorded with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. Here it is for your listening pleasure:
And the flowers I knew / In the fields where I grew / Were content to be lost in the crowd / They were common and close / I had no room for growth / And I wanted so much to branch out
The song tells the story of a flower that sprouts in a field where it doesn't fit in. One day the flower uproots itself and takes off on the wind, ready to tackle the mysteries the world has in store for it.
It doesn't take a literature degree to tell that Dolly isn't singing about actual flowers here. She was famously born into a poor family, one child of twelve living in a one-room cabin in rural Tennessee. Buoyed by her grit, musical ability, and business acumen, she took off to tackle the music industry, building a successful career that spanned the better part of a century.
So the Garden One Day Set Me Free
While her song may express a need to break free, Dolly never spoke badly of her upbringing. She's described her father as one of the smartest people she ever knew, and credits her mother with her musical talent. The song even gives a nod to the way she was raised, crediting it with her toughness and ability to survive:
When a flower grows wild / It can always survive / Wildflowers don't care where they grow
That's what the song "Wildflowers" is really about – setting out to pursue your dreams, but also being adaptable. You can't expect the world to cater to you or treat you like you're special. (We're not talking about high-maintenance plants here). If you go with the flow and let the wind carry you, you just might have a successful life free from regrets. It certainly seems to have worked for Dolly.
Grow Your Own Wildflowers
