TAKE IT EASY
I was out in the garden today–planting, weeding, trimming and rearranging things. Just as I was about to divide a large clump of grape hyacinths, I became aware of the unmistakable sound of the Eagles singing the refrain of one of their best-known songs:
“Take it easy, take it easy.
Don’t let the sound of your own wheels
Drive you crazy.”
I won’t take an I-Pod out into the garden, so the Eagles were obviously singing directly from inside my head. Now I can’t get them and that song out of there.
Being something of a Type A personality, I confess that I occasionally let the sound of my own wheels drive me crazy. That’s why I garden: it quiets the noise of those wheels.
In the garden I heed the Eagles and make things easy for myself. The following are a few of my best tricks for accomplishing that goal.
I Worship Mulch: There are some plants, like nasturtiums, that do much better in sparse, relatively dry soil. Most other plants appreciate a good mulching, which helps the soil retain moisture and keeps weeds at bay. Though you still have to schlep the mulch home from the store and spread it onto the soil, it’s a great investment of time and money. Thorough mulching lets you take it easy later in the season and reduces the need for water.
Only the Strong Survive: I’ll try just about any plant, but if it doesn’t flourish, it probably won’t receive radical life saving measures. I make exceptions to this rule for extremely expensive specimens or those that have heirloom or sentimental value. Occasionally if a plant doesn’t work in one location, I’ll move it to a spot that I think is better. It’s easier in the long run to go with the hardiest plants.
No Chemicals: I garden organically, so I don’t waste time on tasks like trying to figure out complicated pesticide treatment schemes for my roses. The roses, by the way, are big strapping creatures that thrive on this kind of treatment. If you garden organically for long enough, Nature will begin to balance things out in your garden and this helps you balance things out in your head. You will always have to put up with the occasional outbreak of black spot or a bit of insect damage, but the beneficial birds and insects will dispatch a lot of the plant predators. Spacing plants intelligently to provide good air circulation works wonders as well. In my yard, we have integrated pest management, which means that the cats help to deter the rodents most of the time. I think they do this with their disgusting canned-food breath rather than by actual displays of brute force, but whatever their technique, it seems to work.
Volunteers Welcome: Plants that increase nicely or self-seed in a reasonable manner are welcome in my garden. My daffodils spring up from a carpet of self-sown forget-me-nots. In a few weeks my upper back garden will be awash in scores of purple, mauve and white larkspur, all descended from one package of seed that I sowed about eight years ago. Most self-sowers have fairly shallow roots and can be easily grubbed out if they show up in places where they are not wanted. Of course if your planting scheme is formal, you may not want such exuberant specimens. But then, if your planting scheme is formal, chances are good that either you or your garden minions aren’t into taking it easy.
Cottage Gardens are Easy: I have deliberately made a “cottage garden”. This means that it has a great many different kinds of annuals, perennials and shrubs organized rather loosely. The trick with a cottage garden is to make it look relaxed without allowing it to become a mess. This is easier than it sounds. I use lots of ground covering plants, in addition to mulch, so I don’t have to weed. I don’t indulge in fussy practices like staking. Instead I administer the “Chelsea chop”–so named because it coincides with that great English floral extravaganza, the Chelsea Flower Show–in May to tall-growing, summer-flowering plants like asters and sedum. This creates shorter, fuller specimens that don’t usually require staking. Any plant that flops over despite my efforts is either allowed to droop in an artistic manner or gets lopped off for indoor bouquets. I also try to pick plants that don’t require inordinate amounts of trimming and pruning.
That’s it in a nutshell. The Eagles are still singing:
“Lighten up while you still can.
Don’t even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand
And take it easy.”
I take an easy stand in my garden. There are enough places where the sound of my own wheels drives me crazy.