The basil just never seemed to grow.  I’d plant it in May and it wouldn’t grow much before the frost hit.  It would look pale – almost yellow, and the amount I’d get to dry didn’t even fill a small container.

I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

I tried watering it more…and less.  It was in a nice, sunny spot.  And yet every year it was the same.  Anemic looking basil.  I figured I just didn’t know how to grow basil.

This year I decided to find a different place to plant it.  I had to clear out a plot that had chocolate mint and garden phlox going wild.  Both very invasive plants.  So that was a job in itself.  But finally I had a space to put the basil.

I put a few other herbs there, too.  I figured it would be a good experiment to split them up and see if it was the gardener, the plants, or the conditions.  I’d see how they fared in the new spot compared to the old.

Guess what?  The basil loves the new spot.  It’s tall and healthy and I’ll have plenty to use both fresh and dried.  The sage likes it too.  Not so much the parsley.

(c) Kathleen Thompson
Much better!

In Episode 097 I talked about change as a foundation to craftsmanship.  And one way to practice change is to do something you do often, and do it differently.  That’s exactly what I did with the basil.  Experimented to see if moving it would make a difference.

Fortunately, it made a positive difference.  The basil thrived in its new location.  It could just have easily gone the other way and looked worse.  Or died.  But either way the experiment was worth it.  Because the more I experiment, the more I learn.

That’s true for you, too.  I know it’s more efficient to find something that works and stick with it.  And I know you can’t experiment with everything all the time.  It takes too long, and you’re busy.  But one of the marks of craftsmanship is to be willing to possibly break something to ultimately improve.  To learn more about how and even why something works by playing with it.

I learn so much more about cooking by trying things that by simply following a recipe.  Same with gardening.  And leadership.  It’s important to have teaching or coaching, especially for something that matters to us.  And then take time to play.  Experiment.  Move the plants.  Try different herbs on your fish.  Or whatever your creative work is.

What do you want to experiment with today?  How does it make you feel when you think about experimenting?  Please leave a comment.