As we age...we just can't do what we once could do. We have to find different ways and methods. This morning I was reading the chapter on Accepting Imperfection. When my daughter was in about 1st or 2nd grade....she would draw or write something on a piece of paper...if it wasn't just so....she crumbled it up and tossed it in the trash. She changed later on when she couldn't keep up with the class. So many gardeners are perfectionists. They want tidy rows, no weeds, perfect deadheaded blooms. I was sort of like that at one time. Then cottage gardening became so popular, and I learned to love the way flowers blended together in a casual way. I, like the author, learned to go with the flow. Sometimes we blame gardening for wearing us out....when the real culprit is life. We live in such a busy world...there isn't really time for everything.We say, "I just get so tired working in the garden." Maybe if we lowered our standards and let go of other chores...we'd have an easier time.
The author speaks of woodlands. She says that mature trees that have completed their life cycle... start to lean on their neighbors. Sometimes, like in my woods...a few are held up by younger trees or fall to the ground. Then the canopy is different, letting in light for the first time in years. Other things start growing, small saplings, wild flowers...feeding off the dead tree.
Her ideas about fall cleanup are interesting too. She rakes the leaves into the ornamentals around the house and also the garden....Eventually these break down and nourish the plants.I've done this for a long time. Instead of clearing the beds completely...I leave some dried material there for winter protection.
I'll keep reading this book and taking notes. As someone said....just let nature take it's course...and learn to go with the flow.
Balisha
Thanks for sharing about this author. I've read Mr. Baker's books, too. We don't have many plants these days but we selected a few that are easy to care for.
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing :)
ReplyDeleteOh I am so ready for gardens. I am so tired of winter!
ReplyDeleteI have always left a good quantity of leaves on my gardens. I thought it was because I was lazy, LOL
ReplyDeleteI always have leaves around the plants that blow there from either my trees and bushes or the neighbors and I leave them there for the winter. Come spring if there is a huge amount of them covering something ( usually just on the one side ) I might rake them up a bit but they do break down and nourish the soil....i prefer cottage garden style, not everything all neat and perfect. That's not to say that I actually HAVE a cottage garden here but I agree with that author ! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting - there is beauty in the wildflowers too :-)
ReplyDeleteI stopped raking leaves out from my garden beds when I got older...in the fall my energy is spent and I'm ready for a long winter's rest. Come spring....I am anxious to get out there and usually overdo the first couple of days.
ReplyDeleteBalisha
We leave the leaves until spring, or whenever it gets dry enough to rake. Oak leaves are tough and break down slowly so we rake the top layer off into the woods so the plants can get sun. Over the seven years we've been here the leaves that do compost have enriched our clay soil. The advantage of living in the woods is that anything that grows beyond what nature planted adds color and impact ~ the hardest part is getting the soil ready.
ReplyDeleteI read this book a couple of years ago and have tried to follow her advice ever since. If you have to work too hard in the garden, then it becomes a drudge and not enjoyment. I've learned to overlook some of the weeds and focus on the flowers!
ReplyDelete