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

Planting Joy

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    Being a lazy gardener - step one
    • Sep 13, 2021
    • 1 min

    Being a lazy gardener - step one

    Gardening seems to be a constant series of actions, but being smart is more important than being energetic. Mental skills are more...
    Safe color combinations
    • Mar 15, 2021
    • 1 min

    Safe color combinations

    I'm a real conservative as far as colors go, more comfortable with subtle shadings and combinations than wild and almost-clashing...
    Cultivate some local experts
    • Mar 3, 2021
    • 1 min

    Cultivate some local experts

    What's better than the internet? People whose brains you can pick for local information. Might be a neighbor, or one of the Master...
    Groundcover partners
    • Feb 23, 2021
    • 1 min

    Groundcover partners

    The perfect groundcover can be an elusive ideal. To do its job of defending the garden from weeds it needs to be both dense and thick,...
    What do you have to offer a plant?
    • Feb 19, 2021
    • 1 min

    What do you have to offer a plant?

    Planning is so much fun. Seed catalogs, websites, nurseries full of tempting beauties, they all ask for room in our gardens. And when you...
    Garden beds grow, too
    • Feb 12, 2021
    • 1 min

    Garden beds grow, too

    Most people accept the extra work needed to get a daylily or an azalea off to a good start, the extra watering, extra fertilizer, extra...
    Talking to plants - weird or practical?
    • Jan 25, 2021
    • 1 min

    Talking to plants - weird or practical?

    A friend of mine had a cartoon stuck up on a bulletin board, a drawing of a well-dressed matron kneeling in front of her flowers saying,...
    Quotes
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    Quotes

    Garden as though you will live forever. — William Kent My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece — Claude Monet A garden is a grand...
    Quotes
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    Quotes

    There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments. — Janet Kilburn Phillips A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade...
    Appreciating weeds
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    Appreciating weeds

    Lots of people hate dandelions, quackgrass, blackberries and all those other thugs that crowd in where they aren't wanted. But you don't...
    Looking, watching, examining
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    Looking, watching, examining

    My first botany class was taxonomy, the identification of plants, and we often put flowers under a dissecting microscope, a device with a...
    Avoiding pest problems
    • Jan 8, 2021
    • 1 min

    Avoiding pest problems

    Start with healthy plants, give them enough water and fertilizer to get them growing well, and the result is a pest-free plant, usually. ...

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