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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    A "garden mantra" from an expert
    • Mar 23
    • 1 min

    A "garden mantra" from an expert

    Dan Hinkley, naturalist, plant explorer, creator of Heronswood Gardens and so much more, was the featured speaker at the Whidbey...
    A Shakespeare quote for gardeners
    • May 15, 2021
    • 1 min

    A Shakespeare quote for gardeners

    I don't read Shakespeare much but lately I've seen quotes that seem like small packages of great wisdom. Here's one that's especially...
    We need both wilderness and gardens
    • May 11, 2021
    • 1 min

    We need both wilderness and gardens

    If I could, I'd probably choose to live somewhere surrounded by wild meadows, nothing to tend gathering most of my food there and...
    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...
    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,...
    The lost art of "puttering"
    • Jan 23, 2021
    • 1 min

    The lost art of "puttering"

    Useful as it is to know what you "should" do, sometimes it's better to let go of the mental list you're carrying around. "Puttering," by...
    Diversity in the vegetable garden
    • Jan 21, 2021
    • 1 min

    Diversity in the vegetable garden

    Vegetable gardens, rewarding as they are, often seem regimented and dull, at least to me. They're less utilitarian and more delightfully...
    Relaxing without guilt
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    Relaxing without guilt

    Spending time just wandering around your garden is one of the most important things you can do for the plants and for yourself. For one...
    Grieving and gardens
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    Grieving and gardens

    A garden, especially one you've created yourself, can be a safe place to grieve major or minor losses. And don't minimize the need for a...
    Everyone needs a good way to rebel
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    Everyone needs a good way to rebel

    Who wants to follow the rules all the time? I, for one, like to drive the wrong way in parking lots though I'm not fond of truly...
    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...
    Loving the ephemeral
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    Loving the ephemeral

    The Japanese go out of their way to appreciate cherry blossoms, the brief beauty so similar to much of our lives. Goodness gone so...
    The uses of doing nothing
    • Jan 5, 2021
    • 1 min

    The uses of doing nothing

    Opposites, dichotomies, polarities, yin and yang, they're all part of reality. And they're all part of our bodies and minds as well. Much...
    An intensity of life
    • Dec 30, 2020
    • 1 min

    An intensity of life

    My favorite style of gardening, the one that suits the Appletree Garden, is a solid mix of annuals and perennials with some shrubs thrown...
    Meditation for the lazy
    • Dec 30, 2020
    • 1 min

    Meditation for the lazy

    Staring at plants, just looking, watching, noticing. No thinking involved.. Never boring. And there's a serious upside - falling in love...
    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...
    Frustration and delight
    • Dec 28, 2020
    • 1 min

    Frustration and delight

    Any honest gardener will admit to the plants that died, the seeds that didn't sprout, the plans that fell through. So why do they...

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