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

  • Home

  • About Mara

  • Blog

  • The Basics

    • Beginning Well
    • Creation & Destruction
    • The Evolving Garden
  • Appletree Garden

  • More

    Use tab to navigate through the menu items.
    • All Posts
    • Beginning Well
    • Creation & Destruction
    • The Evolving Garden
    • Inspiration
    • Design
    • Nurturing Possibilities
    • Solving problems
    • Vegetables
    • Annuals
    • Lazy gardening
    • Watering
    • Soil
    • Recipes
    • Building Your Garden
    • Adding Plants
    • Techniques
    • Cultivating Patience
    • Cultivating Curiosity
    • Cultivating Enthusiasm
    • Cultivating Relationships
    • Nurturing Stability
    • Nurturing Meaning
    • Water-wise Gardening
    Search
    The "garden recovery" plan
    • Jun 15
    • 1 min

    The "garden recovery" plan

    There will be times when the garden's the last thing you're thinking about. You're sick, or you have a major deadline or you're on...
    Some good things about "weeds"
    • May 17, 2021
    • 1 min

    Some good things about "weeds"

    First, a "weed" is any plant that's growing where you don't want it. Sometimes they're lovely plants, even ones you'd pay money for in a...
    • May 12, 2021
    • 1 min

    Best slug & snail control

    I've been using several products containing iron phosphate over the past five years and I'm sold on this chemical. Not harmful to any...
    My favorite gardening tool
    • Mar 31, 2021
    • 1 min

    My favorite gardening tool

    It's a serrated kitchen knife, costs just a couple dollars from the thrift store. And I have six or seven of them, stashed in various...
    Overwhelmed, again
    • Mar 15, 2021
    • 1 min

    Overwhelmed, again

    It's March and I can see the end of the line for setting up the garden, mid May usually. And setting that next to my thoughts of what I...
    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,...
    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...
    Quackgrass, the infuriating...
    • Jan 18, 2021
    • 2 min

    Quackgrass, the infuriating...

    ...... but useful weed - Think of a sand dune or a bare, scraped clean wound in the earth. Quackgrass is like a scab growing over the...
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    Different ways to remove weeds

    In general, weeds fall into three categories: easy to pull out, deep-rooted and spreading. The easy ones could be any plant that you...
    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...
    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. ...
    Repelling deer
    • Dec 30, 2020
    • 1 min

    Repelling deer

    They're beautiful but deadly to roses and quite a few other plants.. A newly opened blossom is like a delicious bite of candy, it seems....
    Intelligent mulching
    • Dec 30, 2020
    • 2 min

    Intelligent mulching

    Bare ground is an invitation to a disaster, weeds sprouting almost instantly, soil drying faster than you can water it and forming a...
    Weeds or groundcover?
    • Dec 29, 2020
    • 1 min

    Weeds or groundcover?

    Yes, there are plants that overwhelm others and plants that are too ugly to tolerate but just because a stray seedling shows up in your...

    © 2023 by Train of Thoughts. Proudly created with Wix.com