Understanding the Rhizome

As an avid gardener and planter of plants, Deleuze and Guattari's image of the rhizome as a description of their theory is pretty perfect.

At the end of March, I planted some rhizomes--Clematis and Lily of the Valley. I really hate planting rhizomes, because it takes all of my patience to trust that they will actually sprout for the season. I have not seen any progress until just the other morning I went to water the garden, and I finally saw some shoots of the rhizomes--almost a foot away from where I had planted the root system.

Even though rhizomes take patience, I have had enough experience to know that they will produce abundantly after they build up the root system underground. I know that the clematis will go crazy and send up shoots all over the place, growing almost fifteen feet tall vines in a few months. I know that the Lily of the Valley will send up shoots everywhere and provide a lot of ground cover.

In relation to Deleuze and Guattari's theories, the rhizome is a perfect image. As they seek to disengage from metanarrative, the rhizome represents a system entirely different from a tree. Though I may plant a rhizome of clematis this season, it will not be a plant with one base that all the shoots spring from. Instead, it will be several vines with different root systems growing up together, intertwining.

Clematis                                 Lily of the Valley