I am an Unruly Gardener

I am an unruly gardener, likely a lazy gardener, definitely a quirky one and no doubt a combination of all three! No uniform little rows, manicured lawns or perfect flower beds for me! Oh, I start off with good intentions, inspired by many books and seed catalogues, dreaming of all that I will grow in my little space, buying enough seeds for my whole neighbourhood! And I imagine all those perfect beds of herbal medicine along with all the vegies and fruit that I could ever want! Oh it is so perfect! But then, I squirm with discomfort, seeing the work it takes, the relentless hours of weeding, thinning, hoeing and I shiver inside!

Over the years I have lived with this false expectation that I ‘should’ garden like in the books of old and many people still do today, possibly like a perfect English garden, but I see now that is not my personality, does not align with my certain quirky understanding of nature that is always evolving, adjusting, being challenged.

And then I throw out all my plans, toss them aside and excitedly stride outside to my little beds of dirt and dig my hands in, sensing, feeling the earth, smelling the damp soil, still too cold to do anything but wait for spring. Ahhhhh, my breathing slows, my heart sings and I know this year will be the same as years past –big plans, too many plants, hurriedly finding new spots to dig a new hole for whatever suits my fancy and agrees to sprout into life. This can be quite challenging since every fall I end up letting almost anything that still has life in it overwinter to see what will show up again in the spring, my heart too soft to yank out what still offered life. And then it is a waiting game – what will emerge, did it seed, did the roots survive, will it die off, maybe a bird pooped its seed in some new spot yet to be discovered. Ahhh the adventures of Unruly Gardening!

What I love to do is this: planting seeds, nurturing them, seeing them grow into little seedlings, randomly selecting each one and planting it when and where there is inspiration to plant it. This can mean some tomato plants will be put out in a specific garden while others have their lonely wait in their pods until the next inspiration hits or desperation to keep the plant alive forces my hand to grab a few pots and furtively insert these little tykes into soil, well watered and with some words of encouragement for their continued good health and growth.

And I water daily (I live in a hot dry climate), talking to them (well really to myself, but as my children are all grown and moved away, I now use my plants and kittens as the excuse to talk out loud about anything I want!) and loving them up as best I can. Then as the season goes along, I rely more on the plants attending to themselves then me interfering beyond watering and having a daily chit-chat with them. Of course, there are those moments when a plant needs to be tied up, brought into line abit, dead leaves/branches removed, but overall they are the boss of their own space. And believe me, they know it!

So, I have no plan, just like my garden, except to share a wee bit of a unique perspective of garden wisdom and lore, that surprisingly can be transferred to all our life’s experiences, whether they be trials and tribulations; or joy and freedom. Let’s play and find those places inside of you (and in your garden) where you can take the leap, play a bit more and see where it leads. Let’s plant some seeds, create what we can and exalt in this divine beautiful thing we call life!