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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    • May 5, 2021
    • 1 min

    A hint on pansies

    Evidently pansies like an acid soil, pH 5.4 to 5.8, but a friend of a friend, I'm told, had wonderful pansies because she put some lime...
    • May 5, 2021
    • 1 min

    More vegetables in a small space

    I've been experimenting with some vegetables as a temporary ground cover, and others as "focal points" planted into that expanse of...
    An affordable greenhouse
    • Mar 31, 2021
    • 1 min

    An affordable greenhouse

    An excellent shelter for the price, around $100, a Quictent 56"x56"x77". I've been using it since January and I'm very happy with it....
    • Mar 31, 2021
    • 1 min

    Tough, beautiful runner beans

    So enough about being overwhelmed, here's one of the many things that are going right. I have some runner beans seeds from several years...
    • Mar 5, 2021
    • 1 min

    The garlic-flavored leek

    It may be called "elephant garlic" because of its large bulbs, but the plant is more closely related to leeks. And, with their stout...
    • Feb 19, 2021
    • 2 min

    Root care 101

    If plants were human, we might say they're schizophrenic. Part is always searching for light while another part is busily running away...
    Catching warmth from the soil
    • Feb 13, 2021
    • 1 min

    Catching warmth from the soil

    We've had air temperatures in the mid-20's this week, enough to kill the new leaves of the "Naked Ladies" (Amaryllis belladonna) that are...
    Can plants radiate happiness?
    • Feb 13, 2021
    • 1 min

    Can plants radiate happiness?

    I admit to killing plenty of plants through neglect, but I'm doing better. And I got a shipment of eight lush 4" pot specimens from...
    Plants don't read books!
    • Jan 25, 2021
    • 2 min

    Plants don't read books!

    And, occasionally, they don't follow the "rules" laid down by gardening experts. For instance, I had a a Greater Meadowrue (Thalictrum...
    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,...
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    An essential gardening tool - your body

    Take time to care for it! Muscles, especially, need extra attention to keep working properly. Tense muscles are more prone to injury...
    An easy design technique
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    An easy design technique

    Contrast increases interest and combining different textures does just that. Choose three out of this list: fine or ferny big and bold...
    • Jan 5, 2021
    • 2 min

    Growing the forgotten annuals

    With beautiful annuals crowding spring nursery shelves, few people venture into the esoteric realm of hardy annuals, those that sprout in...
    The "not hardy" pot garden
    • Dec 29, 2020
    • 1 min

    The "not hardy" pot garden

    Here in Puget Sound we have ordinary days with temperatures in the 40's and high 30's and occasional tender-plant-destroying arctic...
     Garden rebellion
    • Dec 29, 2020
    • 1 min

    Garden rebellion

    Just can't stop breaking the "rules" can I? Now it's refusing to thin a batch of Larkspur seedlings. Yes, they're way too close together...

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