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

  • Blog

  • The Basics

  • The Process

    • 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
    • Experiments
    • Pests & Weeds
    • Vegetables
    • Annuals
    • Lazy gardening
    • Watering
    • Soil
    • Relationships
    • Recipes
    Search
    Straw - an excellent mulch
    • Jun 23, 2021
    • 1 min

    Straw - an excellent mulch

    Why? Here's a list of reasons, though I admit it's not what I'd choose for a high visibility, impress-the-neighbors garden. Still, it's...
    Easy way to tell if a pot needs watering
    • Jun 23, 2021
    • 1 min

    Easy way to tell if a pot needs watering

    The usual advice is to test the top of the soil. Not bad, but accuracy depends on many factors. When I worked in a nursery I learned a...
    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...
    • 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...
    • Feb 17, 2021
    • 1 min

    Deepening the roots

    For a baby plant, constant moisture is helpful. For one that's on its way to maturity, occasional spells of dryness, but not too much,...
    The best time to water
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    The best time to water

    It's misty this morning, the kind of mid-May "rain" that darkens the ground and makes the air smell flowery and forest-y. And does...
    The problem with pots...
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    The problem with pots...

    ....is that the soil dries out more quickly than an expanse of ground. Big pots, of course, dry out more slowly than little ones, but...
    Water early, dry out late
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    Water early, dry out late

    This applies to daily watering, but I'm thinking of times during the year. We had a wet spring and I'm noticing perennials and shrubs...
    A sneaky problem - hydrophobic soil
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 2 min

    A sneaky problem - hydrophobic soil

    No, nothing to do with rabies. The "fear of water" I'm talking about is a common property of very dry soil, a condition which causes the...
    Watering well
    • Jan 16, 2021
    • 1 min

    Watering well

    Everyone wants to save water, except possibly those who live at the edge of a bog. Here are a few tips: Drench the soil completely...

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