The joy of gardening is a bit about enjoying the process, a lot about anticipating the first glimpse of a seedling or flower bud and all that jazz but is really is all about accepting that good things take time - a lot of time. Yeah yeah yeah - but the real reason that it takes so dang long to make progress in your garden has less to do Nature's speed and more to do with all the time you spend going back and forth fetching and carrying - doing things that don't really count.
Picture this - I'm all set to plant a 100 bulbs - I have 2 full free hours while the kids are napping - more than enough time to do this and more! I grab the bag of bulbs and efficiently head to the target flowerbed, eye the planting area and kneel down to get down to business. But wait! first need to get the spade and gloves. Oops go back for the clippers and a trashcan lid so that you can trim that overflowing bush; collect the clipped branches as well as pesky privet seedlings that are just everywhere - hmm maybe you need a hat - back you go. Now that you're ready to dig holes for the bulbs, it's time to check on the insert how deep these need to be planted - but the insert is back on the porch....one more trip. You return and gaze upon the flower bed - trying to visualize where to put the bulbs in a seemingly random but artful manner. You place the bulbs (this could classify as the first actual bit of gardening you've done now in the 30mins you've been outside). Stand up to inspect it. Ok even dig a few holes for the bulbs. Phone rings and the dog wants to play - your back is killing you by now anyway so it's a good thing to stop. Take a tea-break - but this part counts on the credit side since enjoying just being in the garden definitely qualifies! And while you're scurrying back and forth on the endless trips you notice all sorts of things that need fixing or weeding or feeding - each of these has it's own list of fetch-n-carries. So how can you ever finish any one thing?
No comments:
Post a Comment