I'm not the kind of gardener who gets up and says, "I'm going to garden today!" I don't put on jeans and sensible shoes, sunscreen, gloves and a hat. It's a little different when I'm building a garden, as I was last spring, or adding a fun new detail; that becomes a job to be done.
I don't see my day-to-day gardening as a job, because I try to create gardens that, once finished, can be left alone for a time to decide what they want to be. Then every so often I swoop in, with pruners, scissors or fingernails, and do a little drive-by gardening.
This morning was a perfect example. I noticed my purple plectranthus was looking scraggly...last month's bloom spent, and a second wave trying to come in. So I took to snapping away (plectranthus has brittle, square stems that break easily).
It took a couple of minutes, the plant looks fantastic, and there's a pretty purple pile that might (eventually) get potted up, given away, or taken to the compost bin. The Myrsine even got a tipping too. All this done in my robe, barefoot, with a cup of tea in my hand.
Drive-by gardening is like triage. Whatever needs doing, in the moment, gets done. Or not. Sometimes the need is urgent and timely, like rose pruning, poppy tear-out or bamboo cleanup, but to me a garden is a living, breathing organism that can only be controlled so much, and should be left somewhat to its own devices.
I like drive-by gardening because it lets things grow together in away you just can't duplicate in beds that are constantly cultivated or rearranged. It also fits into the small bits of my day that I feel free to putter. My plants are old friends; even this grouping of pots has been together for several years. By shaping them bit by bit, I've gotten to know who I'm working with. The result is my garden seldom looks perfectly manicured; in fact, if I do my work well, it never looks 'touched' at all.
[Note: This leisurely illusion is best maintained, I have found, when unbeknownst to you, your father has been stopping by to weed every so often!]
I like drive-by gardening because it lets things grow together in away you just can't duplicate in beds that are constantly cultivated or rearranged. It also fits into the small bits of my day that I feel free to putter. My plants are old friends; even this grouping of pots has been together for several years. By shaping them bit by bit, I've gotten to know who I'm working with. The result is my garden seldom looks perfectly manicured; in fact, if I do my work well, it never looks 'touched' at all.
[Note: This leisurely illusion is best maintained, I have found, when unbeknownst to you, your father has been stopping by to weed every so often!]
