So I have a confession, I'm coming clean, laying out there..I am not a gardener. I dearly want to be, I have garden envy in a huge way. I love sitting in a well groomed, flower filled garden, watching the bugs and birds and drawing or snapping photos. The garden grooming part though..well..not so much. I spent a large part of my youthful summers weeding our acre garden on our farm in Tennessee. It is funny really, because I don't remember disliking it then. Of course, I had little else occupying my mind and time. I just really do not enjoy the whole sit on the ground pulling out weeds thing. In my head it seems lovely, the reality for me is not nearly as pleasant.
I love my perennials and get great joy out of watching them pop up every spring and bloom and be happy. I love dead heading and clipping. My garden beds do get weeded, but I tend to leave many things most people rip out in the beds. Like, violets, Gill o' the Ground, creeping mint and various wild flowers like clover. So...my beds are not groomed and tend to look a little messy depending on what is blooming. Honestly I can't decide whether this is just my lack of enthusiasm for gardening or plain just too busy to care a whole lot.
It would seem that alot of my successes are actually mistakes like these squash, or are they gourds or maybe pumpkins..not sure which. Whatever was thrown in the compost pile after Halloween last Fall - so suprise veggies - whoo hoo.
Look at this bed..mint, mystery squash & marigolds..funny I only planted the marigolds!
Or...this lettuce which is thriving after being tiny and ill last year in a container - which I dumped in this bed before I planted all the lovely iris - surprise!! Don't they look happy?
Or this lovely Black eyed Susan..how she ended up here I am clueless!! Whoot works for me!!
So I guess I am more of an accidental gardener. I am pretty happy with whatever comes up where ever it wants to be. I do pull the nasty weeds and feed my beds. But..I would never win the Garden Club award in our area...but it makes me happy so, I guess that is ok too. I guess I will just be happy walking around looking at the all the amazingly tended gardens here in town and on the blogs - some of you are really amazing gardeners!! As for my flower beds the more perennials the better and if pretty weeds pop up they are welcome too. Here is to the accidental gardening.
Namaste, Sarah
19 comments:
sarah, methinks this would be my way of flower gardening, too... whatever pops up and looks good gets to stay :)
as for fruit/vegetables...
All I can say, Sarah, is that I always thought the pictures of your gardens looked beautiful and I' can't tell they're accidental! And even if so, they still work! My garden? I have to pour swimming pools of water on everything daily if I want them to survive. And if I go away for a weekend - Jesse has reams of instructions about all the watering spots. Oh, for an automatic drip system. Glad you're feeling better. : )
Anne
Nothing wrong with accidental gardening. In fact, Mother Nature knows best so it's probably not an accident! :D :D
Sarah, I love how you just go with with flow when it comes to gardening! I'm with you... don't sweat the small stuff in life!
Love & Light~
OM girl
Sarah, your "accidental garden" looks absolutely charming. :-)
I can't take full credit for the design of most of my flower garden, as a big chunk of it is perennials that were there when we moved in. Caring for it however, is all me, and there have been days when I'd much rather be inside creating, but I do love it, lol. :-)
Hugs!
I think there are many gardeners like us out there...I think I am an accidental gardener as well!
Good to visit you too, what fun your blog is..love the music :)
I'm with you on gardening! I have a perennial bed that we planted when we first moved here. My husband wanted all these lovely annual flowers in the bed. I looked at him, hands on hips and said under no circumstances was I going to weed and care for a bunch of annual flowers. Trust me, I said. Well, he did and is thanking me ever since! I don't pull the random phlox that decides to bloom everywhere..it's another beautiful flower to me!
Three cheers for accidental gardening!
Oh Sarah, that is too funny! I am a horrid gardener - I seriously cannot tell a weed from a non-weed! I can't grow houseplants, let alone a garden! But I would not have known that you were not a gardener - your pictures always make your yard look so beautiful and cared for! Whatever you are doing - it's working!
xoxoxo
Like you, the loose and carefree way of gardening will suite your world. There are no rules and laws in the garden...that's why so many of us find solace there.
In your garden, you get to decide what is pretty and welcome. You get to decide! How cool, huh?
And, I love your volunteers...they have made your world quite fun and unexpected!
My mother calls the accidentals "volunteer". I always have volunteer tomatoes but usually just pull them like weeds because they'll compete with the ones I've planted. However, this year I didn't plant any in that area so I'm letting them grow. I also had volunteer petunias in a pot I planted them in last year. I've never seen that before. But I alays get pansies and violas. They are beautiful!!!
Blessings,
Christine
Sarah, I heard a saying that a well manicured yard has no life. Yours and mine is full of life.
BB
Dede
I'm all for accidental gardening...it's truly the only way to go!!
I put in a bunch of perennials last summer (mostly transplants from my mom's garden) and now get to see them flourish and multiply into a wild and wonderful garden. We're very shaded so I am limited with what will grow so when something pops up...I just cheer it on!!
The wilder the better I say...the well-groomed and manicured gardens never seem *real* to me...it's like sitting in someone's *living room* where the plastic is still on the lampshades and you're afraid to wrinkle the sofa...*grin*
Let's see, now how does that old saying go...I think I remember: "One is nearer to God in a garden then any place else on earth." Enjoy your gardening to the fullest!
Actually Sarah that is the best way to garden. The plants tell you where they want to be if you are paying attention. Looks like you are! :)
My good friend is a landscape architect and in her own garden she throws a handfull of seeds to just see what happens. I guess it's all part of going with what feels right.
That is what I call a good gardener.
The new pictures of the kids are great. I love that Fox is laughing so hard.
The picture of you and Hanna is amazing.
You are absolutely gorgeous.
Love Renee xoxo
Be proud!
Cindy
I try to be a gardener! Love your photos and thanks!!
Oh wow - I loved all these - especially that lichen shot.
beautiful!
I wanted to do the pretty side of MI, but decided to do what I see regularly. I don't live in that area, but I drive through it a lot.
It is sad...
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