If a garden does not look good in May and June, it will never look good.
I have heard that phrase, read it, and even said it many times over the years. It stays current because it’s true-at least most of the time. If your landscape is like mine, full of a lot of spring-flowering divas—roses, peonies, iris and the like—it can’t help but shine when they are all singing at once. In fact, their great big fluffy heads, bright colors and alluring scents are enough to make garden visitors overlook the chickweed that may be romping at their feet.
For many of us, spring is about more than flowers. As the end of May passes into June, the business of life competes with the business of gardening, and there are times when even the strongest desire to get out in the garden can’t compete with the daily grind of personal, professional and even social responsibilities. In the meantime, the peonies flaunt their colors and the foxgloves rise to new heights. Not to be outdone, the weeds respond by flaunting their ability to grow faster than anything else.
In fact, I think the fastest growing plant in my garden right now is common pokeweed—Phytolaca americana—a large-leafed weed that, if left to its own devices, will grow to be a bushy specimen that tops out at four or more feet tall. Without proper attention, it will sink deep roots and eventually produce a crop of very attractive, glossy black berries. Pokeweed berries are beloved by the birds, and those birds will share the love by distributing the seeds far and wide. I don’t share the love, so no matter how busy I am or where I am going, I pluck out pokeweed whenever I see it. It is always a worthwhile time investment.
Last week I went on a charity garden tour and noticed that just about every garden featured at least a few weeds in out-of-the-way corners. It was a great relief to see that even in expensive gardens tended at least partly by hired help, some things are overlooked in the midst of this season of rapid growth.
That little bit of comfort helps me stave off the guilt that pops up as I see the spring onion grass give way to the summer crabgrass. I also plot tricks and hacks that make the garden look better by making efficient use of the available time.
Every gardener can list chores that he or she absolutely hates. Mine is hedge trimming. Unfortunately, it is one of those activities that make the entire property look civilized even when the weeding and mulching schedule is almost non-existent. One year I decided that since I hated hedge trimming so much, I would cut back on other expenditures and hire a landscaper to take care of the privet that bounds my front yard on three sides. Unfortunately, all the area landscapers were busy and no one could touch the hedge for at least three weeks. In that time, the vigorous privet would have grown into something that resembled a leafy green mastodon.
The only choice was to do the job in small time increments, a strategy I have pursued ever since. With the aid of my trusty electric hedge clipper, I can take care of at least ten linear feet of privet in about fifteen minutes, counting the time it takes to bag up the debris. I try to remember to wear long sleeves and apply insect repellent in advance of these outings. Otherwise it takes an additional five or six minutes to treat all the bites and scratches.
Of course, while you apply yourself to your least favorite task, the rest of the garden begins to look overgrown and untidy. Now that the daffodil and tulip foliage has started to turn yellow-brown, it is time to remove it, for horticultural as well as aesthetic reasons. Doing so will make the garden look fresher and better-managed. But foliage removal can be a big job if you are like me and have lots of daffodils. Tame the foliage beast by keeping clippers and a waste container by whatever exterior door you use most often. You can trim a reasonable amount of spent foliage in as little as five minutes. By taking twenty seconds to don garden gloves when you start, you will also save yourself the necessity of a lengthy hand washing session afterwards.
Mulch small areas in the same way. Keeping a two-gallon container, trowel and open bag of mulch handy, lets you spread a two-inch layer of mulch over small areas of beds and borders quickly, without making a mess. Every square inch of mulch goes to work immediately suppressing weeds and keeping the ground underneath cool and moist. Taken another way, five minutes spent spreading mulch is five minutes that you won’t have to spend weeding in a few weeks’ time. There are plenty of stocks and bonds that cannot come close to providing that kind of return on investment.
While pursuing garden chores in small time increments and cursing the lack of available hours, remember that perfection in gardens is very much overrated. Magazine TV and Instagram landscapes have been cosseted, artfully photographed and, in some cases, digitally altered into a state of perfection. Like fashion models, those gardens are not gorgeous first thing in the morning. As you gaze, googly-eyed at those statuesque delphiniums or perfect poppies, you won’t see the pokeweed lurking just outside the photo frame or the broken-down string trimmer in the garage, but I guarantee that they are there. And, no matter what those artfully arranged gardens look like, I can also say with certainty that the gardeners in charge of them will invariably tell you that the delphiniums were even taller last year.
So plant your guilt somewhere where the sun doesn’t shine and enjoy whatever garden time you can steal. When all else fails, remember that even the most pernicious weeds have a beauty all their own.