Older gardens have a marvelous sense of stability and a unique character. They're restful to wander around in or sit inside. Not that they're static, no garden ever stays exactly the same. But they have a depth of spirit, you might say, a quality that's almost indescribable.
The gardeners and the gardens seem to have reached a balance that means, usually, less work. The more plants there are to fill the space, the fewer the weeds and, often, the less water it needs. The plants that do well have been allowed to spread, the ones that didn't work out are gone. The shrubs and trees are full grown. Stability amid change, that's what a mature garden says.
Nurturing stability
A stable piece of land has a good plant cover, often three or four layers from ground covers to tall perennials or shrubs. No bare soil, no expanses of mulch, means less maintenance. This ideal may take a few years and many plants to achieve, but it's a worthwhile goal.
Nurturing meaning
Meaning is always personal, something to give to an object in the outer world, a way of melding inner and outer reality. You can always add something with meaning to a garden, a statue, a rose planted to honor a friend, a special rock from your favorite place.
The more meaning infused into your garden, the more the garden as a whole with feel uniquely yours, and the more energy you'll have for working with it. In a way, gardens are like sandboxes for grownups. We play around, change the furniture or the decorations and when we get bored we find something else to do.
Nurturing possibilities
Brainstorming is a good winter activity, or even something to occupy yourself in the midsummer heat when you're not going to actually change anything. Seed catalogs arrive, you. have time to look at gardening sites online or the beautiful books of photos that tempt us into bookstores.
And brainstorming is, by definition, separate from decision-making. Ideas, lots of ideas, are the purpose here. Write them down, collect photos, let your imagination roam. Practicality comes later.
Older gardens have a marvelous sense of stability and a unique character. They're restful to wander around in or sit inside. Not that they're static, no garden ever stays exactly the same. But they have a depth of spirit, you might say, a quality that's almost indescribable.
The gardeners and the gardens seem to have reached a balance that means, usually, less work. The more plants there are to fill the space, the fewer the weeds and, often, the less water it needs. The plants that do well have been allowed to spread, the ones that didn't work out are gone. The shrubs and trees are full grown. Stability amid change, that's what a mature garden says.
Nurturing stability
A stable piece of land has a good plant cover, often three or four layers from ground covers to tall perennials or shrubs. No bare soil, no expanses of mulch, means less maintenance. This ideal may take a few years and many plants to achieve, but it's a worthwhile goal.
Nurturing meaning
Meaning is always personal, something to give to an object in the outer world, a way of melding inner and outer reality. You can always add something with meaning to a garden, a statue, a rose planted to honor a friend, a special rock from your favorite place.
The more meaning infused into your garden, the more the garden as a whole with feel uniquely yours, and the more energy you'll have for working with it. In a way, gardens are like sandboxes for grownups. We play around, change the furniture or the decorations and when we get bored we find something else to do.
Nurturing possibilities
Brainstorming is a good winter activity, or even something to occupy yourself in the midsummer heat when you're not going to actually change anything. Seed catalogs arrive, you. have time to look at gardening sites online or the beautiful books of photos that tempt us into bookstores.
And brainstorming is, by definition, separate from decision-making. Ideas, lots of ideas, are the purpose here. Write them down, collect photos, let your imagination roam. Practicality comes later.
Gardening with Skill and Delight
Beginning Well
Avoiding problems takes less time and work, in the long run, than solving them. Make your first steps in the garden count by having the patience to wait, to learn, to give your relationship to the land and the plants time to grow.
Cultivating patience
More gardens have been ruined at the start by impulse purchases and hasty planting. Why? Plants are not furniture. Some need shade, some full sun. Get that requirement wrong and you'll think you have a brown thumb, can't grow anything. And that's not the only need to take into account.
Then there's the weeds. A quick planting can leave monsters under the ground just waiting for a chance to ruin your garden.
Patience is essential in gardening. Consider your patch of ground a long-term investment. Start small. Build enthusiasm. And have fun!
Cultivating curiosity
First, know what you need from a garden. Next, find out what your garden has to offer potential inhabitants. Where is it sunny? Shady? What's the texture of the soil? the pH? How cold will it get in winter? Any warm corners or frost pockets? And so on. The more you know about your garden the better.
And find out as much as possible about the trees, shrubs and flowers you could invite into this space. Visit nurseries, look at the options, find out what you, personally, like and what you don't. Read, gather photos, just let your curiosity guide you into all sorts of odd places.
Spending a year in this process is probably minimum if you've just moved in and you're starting from scratch. Short-cut it and you'll be in for some unpleasant surprises.
Cultivating relationships
Making a garden may seem to be about what you do but the important things are the intangibles, the ties between you and the plants, the people who live and visit here, the whole world around you. Plants can be good company, as can the birds who visit. While you're patiently putting off the planting, spend some time just walking around, noticing the way the light shines through the petals of a flower, watching bumblebees, enjoying the breeze on your skin.
The "fertilizer" for relationships is attention and time spent together. Both individual plants and the garden as a whole will become more real to you, more settled and rewarding, the more time you spend together.
