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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    Discovering the "why" of vegetables
    • Sep 12, 2021
    • 1 min

    Discovering the "why" of vegetables

    Growing vegetables has always been frustrating for me. They need more fertilizer, more attention, more everything than your average...
    Advantages to adding annuals
    • May 24, 2021
    • 1 min

    Advantages to adding annuals

    I'm not fond of regimented vegetable gardens so adding flowers feels natural. Sweet alyssum spilling over the edge of a bed softens the...
    • 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...
    Warm the soil for best tomatoes
    • May 5, 2021
    • 1 min

    Warm the soil for best tomatoes

    Cool summers here in the Northwest are great for spinach, lettuce and peas but tricky for tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and other...
    • 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...
    Using shade for better vegetables
    • Feb 12, 2021
    • 1 min

    Using shade for better vegetables

    Most instructions say "sun" no matter what the vegetable, but some are better in part-shade, or even full shade. The key is whether you...
    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...
    Parsnips as useful weeds
    • Jan 19, 2021
    • 1 min

    Parsnips as useful weeds

    For some reason, I have more luck with parsnips that come up on their own than the ones I plant intentionally. The directions for...
    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. ...
    Gardening bonus - the creative stir-fry
    • Dec 30, 2020
    • 1 min

    Gardening bonus - the creative stir-fry

    Stir-fries were invented, I'm sure, by people with gardens. Or, more likely, people gathering wild foods. What other technique is...

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