Appreciating trees

From Ohr Avigdor Shaar Habechinah by Rabbi Avigdor Miller 

When we see a peach pit, we should be thinking that this is a miracle of Hashem. Although the peach pit comes from a tree, it is encased in a shell that is harder than wood. In fact, it’s more like a piece of hard plastic; it is so hard that even the teeth of a squirrel are unable to pierce it. Hashem’s plan is to protect the seed inside from being eaten, to ensure that there will be a future peach tree. That’s a remarkable demonstration of purpose and intent in nature.​

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Therefore people must make the effort to gain that knowledge of these acts

The hardened peach pit cannot be cut open with a wood saw, and yet, miracle of miracles, when the peach pit is buried in the soil, it opens up by itself. The two halves of the pit are glued together by a natural paste whose special formula causes it only to yield to the bacteria and fungi of the soil. How that paste got there is the wisdom of Hashem. Once the peach pit is in the ground, the paste decomposes and the two halves of the shell open up, allowing the seed to emerge and to develop into a tree.

When we start thinking about it, we realize that the pit is a remarkable device. The hardened case of the peach pit is too strong for the powerful teeth of animals to crack and yet when we put it into soil it opens automatically. It is clearly designed to protect the seed for the future so that there will be more trees. Who is the beneficiary of all this? Mankind. They are the ones who will eat the fruit of the peach tree and they are the ones who are obligated to think about this wonder and to thank Hashem for His plan and His purpose in making it happen.
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That is what the author of Chovos Halevavos is telling us. We have an obligation to acquire that way of looking at things. Once we acquire it, we will see that the world is full of opportunities, as we say in Ashrei, “... to make known to man His mighty acts, and the glorious splendor of His kingdom.“ That is why all these things are made: to make known to mankind. Therefore people must make the effort to gain that knowledge of these acts. It’s true very many people never think about this and might even ridicule it, saying that it’s something only for extremists, or extraordinary people. But Chovos Halevovos teaches that everybody must have at least some level of accomplishment in this field of recognizing the handiwork of Hashem in the world around us.​