Not long ago I hosted a party at my home and was surprised that one of the guests’ first response to the garden was, “It sure needs a lot of work!”. This wasn’t said to me, for if it was I would have simply brushed it off as 1. I like the “work” (it’s more like play), and 2. garden guilt be damned.
No, this was said to Mr. Garden Therapy who then could only see how much work needed to be done. He repeated the phrase with exasperation and has since offered many times his desire to get out there and clean it up.
Year round I catch him out there weeding on his way to work, like the weeds he passes by would haunt him all day as he sits at his desk. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that there is random weeding happening (and not by me) but I guess I just see it a bit differently.
Hey, this is yet another FREE Printable for you! You can frame up an 8×10 or download the mobile wallpaper. Click the links and the image will open in a new page. Save to your computer and enjoy!
A Good Garden May Have Some Weeds 8×10 Printable
A Good Garden May Have Some Weeds Mobile Wallpaper
Winter is just waving goodbye for another year and Spring is taking her sweet time it seems. The snow is gone, the grass is green and the garden is, well, weedy. There are plenty of wee little weeds getting started for the year. Seed leaves that could be something we want but are most likely a monster that will take over the garden if we go away for a weekend. There are dried out flower stalks that I left for the birds to munch and perch on. There is leaf mulch covering the beds in some places, in others the rocky soil is showing it’s ugly face. I will be sifting stones out of this garden until I’m too old to pick them out with my arthritic fingers.
Through all that mess I see the spring bulbs. The perennials are poking up through the soil though. Garlic, broad beans, and rhubarb are all making their appearance. Once I cut off those dried flower stalks and turn in the mulch, the garden will “show” much nicer. Until then, I don’t feel the stress. I know that the garden is there for me and my therapy. That the days I get to work on it will be those that I remember, not the ones where it doesn’t look perfect to everyone else.
Love that saying, Stephanie.
Perfection is boring. And on top of all of other guilts we have, garden guilty definitely shouldn’t be heaped onto the pile. A garden should be a happy place!
Can’t wait to see your garden adventures this year! :)
I love it! Everyone expects me and my husband to have a perfect yard and garden as well. I have weeds galore. If I spend every waking hour pulling weeds I’d get nothing else done. Plus, there are some weeds I adore (dandelions). A perfect garden is boring. You need to have a little bit of mess to have fun!
Agreed! My boyfriend looked exasperated when he told me, “If you don’t get rid of the grass in the cracks in the concrete, I’m going to pour chemicals all over it”.
I use a clove-oil based herbicide (I think it’s Burnout II? ) Anyway, I sort of found it amusing that he was so upset by it!
PS I like dandelions, too…