Fact or Fiction

Monek Marie

Your garden is never “done” – thinking that it is will only lead to missed opportunities and frustration.

Do you agree or disagree?

I think a garden grows with you as you learn. It will constantly change, which is a good thing.

kbmbillups1

I agree with you that your gardening gets better and more productive as you learn and try new things. Although sometimes you try new things that don't work as well but you learn from it and don't do it again.

JodieDownUnder

@Monek Marie I agree with you, gardens are forever changing. I would say that has a lot to do with the ebb & flow of the gardener. Seasons aren’t reliable any more, life gets busy & peoples energy levels differ. Normally I would be getting ready to plant seeds for a winter garden but I’m going away for most of March & won’t be around to nurture them & don’t want to put pressure on my house sitter. So when I return, I’ll more than likely purchase seedlings, so I’m not too far behind. So my beds will get a rest for 7 weeks or so. At the moment I’m removing spent tomatoes, zucchini, beans, mustard greens & lettuce gone to head, giving each bed a top up of lime, blood & bone, compost & mulch. So unusually my veggie garden looks a bit empty.

Monek Marie

@kbmbillups1 I consider a garden experimental. I am always trying something new and sometimes it makes for a great horror story later on.

@JodieDownUnder I like my fall and winter gardens better. They seem to produce better and have far less insect or disease issues. Enjoy your time traveling.

kbmbillups1

@Monek Marie I normally like my fall and winter garden better as well. This winter it got way too cold for a week, and almost everything died. So, as you said I did some experimenting and I'm back to where I was in November with the size of my plants. I'm hoping to get something out of these new plants in the next 2 months. The plants that made it through the cold were the ones I bought as larger plants at the grower's outlet near me. So, next year I'm either starting my seeds earlier so they'll be farther along or buy them from that outlet.

jowitt.europe

@Monek Marie I agree and disagree. I like that we here have 4 seasons. It means there is a start and an end every year. I am always happy to start and I am always happy to “finish” the garden before frost comes.

During spring/summer/autumn months I think in terms of portions. I portion my garden activities, so that I am not frustrated at the amount of work to be done. And, clever me - I always plan not to do too much. Then, usually, I do more than that and there is an inner satisfaction. Kind of a game with myself, but it helps. And I try not to allow myself to get distracted by doing additional this or that on the way. So, in my case, gardening can be done. But garden never.

I like Monty Don’s gardening Programmes and he travelled round the world to show French, Italian, etc gardens. There was a question: can a garden be a work of art. The answer was no, as a work of art is a finished product. A garden is always in a change, in a process. I tend to agree to this.

VermontCathy

It will never be "done". However, you can achieve the goals that you initially set, and in that sense you will be done and ready to move on to new goals.

Even after you develop master gardening skills, your life will change. As you age, you will need to adapt your gardening skills to your physical limitations.

If you move from rural or suburban land to an apartment, you will need to improve your skills at growing in pots. I have several local friends in exactly this situation, and they had had to reinvent their gardening techniques.

Lisa K

Gardening to me is an experiment and the garden is one of the best classrooms there is.

vickeym

I feel like, If your garden is ever truly done, you did something wrong.

Michelle D

I think it would be a very sad thing if my garden was ever done. Having experiments going on is one of the joys of growing. I do new things every season. My garden grows and changes with me and my family.

gardneto76

I would agree, my garden is never done. I am fortunate enough to live in a place I can garden year round so I am rotating plants in and out. I always have more I can do than time to do it in as well. This can also lead to frustration as well. Summer gets really hot so I have to plan accordingly, many many of you for winter, and know that some of the stuff I plant simply will not going to thrive. I have grown a lot and learned a ton about gardening in such a hot climate. My first few years everything died in the heat, and again in the cold. I now plan my breaks if I want one and just hold off on planting things, or focus on things I know can handle the neglect.