I was talking to someone the other day about different gardening styles. I’m very much of the ‘chuck it in, hope for the best’ school of thought, and as a result there’s not much pattern to the borders, but it all looks nice when it’s flowering.
Gardening is a personal choice, so no style is the ‘right’ style, but I got wondering about what made us prefer one over the other.
I like to be organised. I have to be organised… with a full time job, a husband and two kids, co-chair of our village carnival committee, one night a week volunteering at the local youth club and trying to grow my own vegetables too… there are a lot of balls in the air. I manage to keep them all up there too: most of the time.
But there is organised and organised. I have to plan my time well, and have a continual list running round in my head. I’d LOVE to have an immaculate house, but have resigned myself to the fact that with four of us living here, it just ain’t going to happen!
So, I think my gardening style has come out of this. I have so many things going on out there, I just don’t have the time to be worried about the odd weed poking up, or a plant in the wrong place. As long as the bigger picture looks pretty, that’s fine by me. I embrace the self seeders – they are free, and they fill a bit of soil that would be snaffled by a weed otherwise. I think time is better spent in the garden to actually stop. And enjoy a glass of wine. And just sit.
Maybe when I’m older, with less balls to juggle, I’ll become that organised person. Maybe I’ll have neat rows of bedding plants, and perfectly trained shrubs and borders. Maybe, but I can’t see it. I just don’t think it’s in me…
What style of gardener are you?
The view of the garden. Complete with patched up lawn. Not got round to putting the hosepipe away yet…
