I have several seating areas @stephentame, but in the main I drag a tatty old chair with me to where I am working. At the end of the day, usually when it's going dark, I do finally sit down and try to appreciate what I have achieved. I very much need to angle the chair to what I have done, otherwise like @B3 and @AnniD I spot something else that needs doing. I do struggle to sit still, often a glass of wine helps though.;)
I understand what you mean @Fire, so easy to fall into the trap of only seeing what needs to be done, not what you have done, one of the reasons I got to pondering about the subject of this thread. I often do something drastic rather than mundane digging or some such thing, just to be able to see something has changed, my poor rambling (rampant) rose certainly got drastic treatment the other day, but now my pergola is actually visible and could be safe to sit under if I ever take the opportunity. I also love being with people, my tearoom is always buzzing with people coming and going and this last year has been very hard because it is eerily empty. Thank goodness for this forum, at least we can chat away to all these 'virtual' people.
I have just finished some takeaway lunches and have more booked in for 6 pm so am off out to the garden now, try not to get too mucky and have an absolute deadline for being back in the tearoom for 5:30, let's see what I achieve.
“Coffee. Garden. Coffee. Does a good morning need anything else?” —Betsy Cañas Garmon
I worked for 30 years as a special needs teacher. The only time I wrote lesson plans was when I had an assessment due, although it didn't mean I didn't plan lessons. I might have an overall aim in mind, but the kids were so varied in their problems, and some so volatile, that you had to be very flexible in the way you approached things and be ready to change tack if something wasn't working one day, but go back to it later, if it was an important thing to learn.
My gardening is a bit like that - I have an idea of what I want to achieve, and try to get nearer in whatever way suits at the time. I get days when I feel like digging, but the soil is too wet, or need to cart stuff and can't (too wet again!) so have to go and tidy or sweep or cut things down or whatever, but I like to do a good job and it niggles at me until it is finished. I'm another one who likes hand weeding too.
Often takes more than one go to finish things though, as I run out of time, or light, or energy, or the weather decides for me!
Good point @madpenguin, when I go to my sister's garden, I've got a shortlist of jobs which all get done before I leave. However, it does get added to along the way........
It most certainly is a labour of love. I suppose the thing we love is that it is ever changing, even if something doesn't work this season we can easily change/add/remove and I suppose it is only in our own standards that we are trying to meet.
It has been really interesting reading all your thoughts, I am glad I am not alone in 'fliting' about and getting carried away with time. As @Obelixx says, a bit of practice in admiring and relaxing is worth aiming for - but not today, I just need to ......
“Coffee. Garden. Coffee. Does a good morning need anything else?” —Betsy Cañas Garmon
It depends on the time of year. Between Feb and May I'm quite systematic in the garden. I have a list of jobs to do each month and mostly manage to get things done on time. The rest of the year I just do things as a when. At the moment I'm working my way around the borders pruning roses and clearing away dead growth and weeds. The next main jobs will be to feed and mulch and then I'll start seed sowing.
This is a really interesting thread, and more so because so many contributors say similar things about distractions. Our garden is too big really, about 3/4 acre with lots of lawn but about 600 feet of borders to attend to, plus two greenhouses (one's now a store really - takes less watering, lol) a couple of veg beds, some difficult slopes, loads of trees, not to mention badgers and pheasants that like to dig! Over the last 7 years I've gone from working full time to taking redundancy and being at home full time. Parallel to that I've gone from not knowing a great deal about gardening to learning much more about how to care for the things we have here and the things I want to grow. I've also fluctuated between feeling I can get on top of the garden, to almost hating the place, resenting the fact that I spend what seems like every waking moment outside yet it still looks no better and there's still loads to be done. My modus operandi is usually to go out with a job in mind, perhaps weeding the bed that runs across the middle of the two lawned areas, but en route to the shed I walk past at least 47 other jobs that need doing, so I get the tools and do one of those instead of the one I meant to do, always thinking 'I'll just do this bit and then get on with that bed'. Several hours later I haven't touched the thing I had in mind in the first place..... As I learned more about gardening I realised that some things are time-critical otherwise they won't work, so I now try to do the time-critical things when they need doing, and sternly remind myself to ignore everything else. I also find it very useful to walk round the garden with a pen and paper and make a list of all the jobs that need doing. I seemed (still do really) to always go out and say 'oh **** I still haven't trimmed/pulled up/tied up that flippin' XYZ plant'. With so many jobs to do, something always gets forgotten but never ceases to irritate for the lack of being done. The list gives me something to aim for and to cross off - very satisfying, until I unearth it some months down the line and realise the amount of things still on it.
I did my first proper bit of this year's weeding the other day, and said to myself that this year I am not going to get side-tracked. If I am dead-heading then I'm dead-heading. I'm not weeding, pruning, feeding, sowing or planting, unless of course it's that time-critical moment. Unsurprisingly I later found myself picking up some of the endless pine cones that litter the lawn, but I let myself off as I did it whilst en route back to the house.
I once had quite a small garden that took an hour to weed once a fortnight, and it had no distractions at all, it just wasn't big enough. I didn't know I was born....
So, after this rambling post, what are my conclusions on how to approach the garden? For me I feel I need to be more disciplined and organised so that I have more sense of purpose and achievement. I'm not sure I'm a butterfly, possibly more of a demented wasp that's constantly buzzing against the glass window wondering why it's not getting anywhere. I also need to look at what I have achieved, and photos are great for that. Possibly most importantly, I need to stop beating myself up if I can't move faster than mother nature can fling weed seeds, twirl sycamore helicopters, sprout mares tail and spread brambles. If the roses, apples and blackcurrant bushes don't get pruned it's not the end of the world - flowers and fruit will most likely still appear because nature's clever like that. Oh, and this year I will finally accept that there truly is NO POINT in trying to grow tomatoes up here, the success rate is too low and variable for me to ever be anything but disappointed!
No longer newish but can't think of a new name so will remain forever newish.
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I understand what you mean @Fire, so easy to fall into the trap of only seeing what needs to be done, not what you have done, one of the reasons I got to pondering about the subject of this thread. I often do something drastic rather than mundane digging or some such thing, just to be able to see something has changed, my poor rambling (rampant) rose certainly got drastic treatment the other day, but now my pergola is actually visible and could be safe to sit under if I ever take the opportunity.
I have just finished some takeaway lunches and have more booked in for 6 pm so am off out to the garden now, try not to get too mucky and have an absolute deadline for being back in the tearoom for 5:30, let's see what I achieve.
Seeing what you've achieved rather than what is still to be done takes practice too!
Not fidgeting while you enjoy a well-earned drink or 5 minutes rest takes practice and a lot of self-discipline!
Never too late to start.
It most certainly is a labour of love. I suppose the thing we love is that it is ever changing, even if something doesn't work this season we can easily change/add/remove and I suppose it is only in our own standards that we are trying to meet.
It has been really interesting reading all your thoughts, I am glad I am not alone in 'fliting' about and getting carried away with time. As @Obelixx says, a bit of practice in admiring and relaxing is worth aiming for - but not today, I just need to ......
Our garden is too big really, about 3/4 acre with lots of lawn but about 600 feet of borders to attend to, plus two greenhouses (one's now a store really - takes less watering, lol) a couple of veg beds, some difficult slopes, loads of trees, not to mention badgers and pheasants that like to dig!
Over the last 7 years I've gone from working full time to taking redundancy and being at home full time. Parallel to that I've gone from not knowing a great deal about gardening to learning much more about how to care for the things we have here and the things I want to grow. I've also fluctuated between feeling I can get on top of the garden, to almost hating the place, resenting the fact that I spend what seems like every waking moment outside yet it still looks no better and there's still loads to be done.
My modus operandi is usually to go out with a job in mind, perhaps weeding the bed that runs across the middle of the two lawned areas, but en route to the shed I walk past at least 47 other jobs that need doing, so I get the tools and do one of those instead of the one I meant to do, always thinking 'I'll just do this bit and then get on with that bed'. Several hours later I haven't touched the thing I had in mind in the first place.....
As I learned more about gardening I realised that some things are time-critical otherwise they won't work, so I now try to do the time-critical things when they need doing, and sternly remind myself to ignore everything else.
I also find it very useful to walk round the garden with a pen and paper and make a list of all the jobs that need doing. I seemed (still do really) to always go out and say 'oh **** I still haven't trimmed/pulled up/tied up that flippin' XYZ plant'. With so many jobs to do, something always gets forgotten but never ceases to irritate for the lack of being done. The list gives me something to aim for and to cross off - very satisfying, until I unearth it some months down the line and realise the amount of things still on it.
I did my first proper bit of this year's weeding the other day, and said to myself that this year I am not going to get side-tracked. If I am dead-heading then I'm dead-heading. I'm not weeding, pruning, feeding, sowing or planting, unless of course it's that time-critical moment. Unsurprisingly I later found myself picking up some of the endless pine cones that litter the lawn, but I let myself off as I did it whilst en route back to the house.
I once had quite a small garden that took an hour to weed once a fortnight, and it had no distractions at all, it just wasn't big enough. I didn't know I was born....
So, after this rambling post, what are my conclusions on how to approach the garden? For me I feel I need to be more disciplined and organised so that I have more sense of purpose and achievement. I'm not sure I'm a butterfly, possibly more of a demented wasp that's constantly buzzing against the glass window wondering why it's not getting anywhere.
I also need to look at what I have achieved, and photos are great for that. Possibly most importantly, I need to stop beating myself up if I can't move faster than mother nature can fling weed seeds, twirl sycamore helicopters, sprout mares tail and spread brambles. If the roses, apples and blackcurrant bushes don't get pruned it's not the end of the world - flowers and fruit will most likely still appear because nature's clever like that. Oh, and this year I will finally accept that there truly is NO POINT in trying to grow tomatoes up here, the success rate is too low and variable for me to ever be anything but disappointed!