Confessions of a messy gardener

I'm in the middle of the summer doldrums. All through spring I'm very gung-ho and eager to work in the garden. Then summer heat hits.

Not only is muggy weather a natural invitation to laziness, but it's not exactly the best time of the year to be moving plants around either. At least that's the way I rationalize it.

To my significant amazement, I've got several places in my beds that are badly overgrown (after only two years!) and need a substantial decluttering. My problem is that some of the plants I'd be uprooting I would want to save elsewhere. The general messiness has been exacerbated by a week's vacation followed by a several-day visit by an old friend I hadn't seen for over 20 years. It goes without saying that the garden was neglected. Mind you, the vacation and the visit were wonderful, so I guess it was worth it.

I won't bore you - and embarass myself - with a list of all the things that need tending to. But I do believe I have come to a decision.

I don't need to impress anybody, so I won't try. I'll pull the occasional excess plant, but I'll wait for cooler days to start juggling, so that poor Captain Kirk hosta is likely to stay overwhelmed for a while. After all, the garden is for my enjoyment, so as long as it's not a question of the plants' health, I'll resist the urge to pretend I'm a gardening diva and just enjoy it, messy as it is.

Come fall, I'll make room in my "composting can" by spreading all the usable stuff, and then fill it up with the rejects from the beds. This of course makes another wonderful excuse not to take action now: "The compost can is too full! Where would I pile all that stuff?"

Here's to the lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer and iced coffee on the patio!

Technorati tag: Garden maintenance
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