Some may say gardening is a hobby but considering how quickly it can turn into an obsession; it can easily be called a passion project. However, come late summer, it can be easy to fall out of love with the garden. The pests and diseases have run amok; once magnificent tall spires have finished flowering – with the exception of a few bright blooms at the very top; the lawn is brown; evidence of a summer storm that whipped through the garden back in the new year is still obvious, in spite of emergency care at the time to prop plants back up, the potato tops are not dying back gracefully as the tubers mature below ground and the zucchini just won’t stop producing! It can be overwhelming at this time of year.
In the spirit of February being the month of love with Valentine’s Day in the centre of it all, here are some steps to fall back in love with your garden at a time when it is difficult to love.
Cut out the dead wood
This close to the end of the growing season, if something isn’t bringing you joy or it is riddled with pests or disease, it is starting to go brown and crispy, or you’ve just had enough zucchini, pull the plants out. Sometimes it can feel a little wrong to be removing plants that still have a bit of life left in them, especially in the case of the zucchini, but there are no rules to say you have to keep plants until the bitter end.
In some cases, they can be freshened up with a pair of secateurs and given a sensible trim to remove the unappealing troublesome bits. If they look scruffy, they can bring down the overall aesthetic as well as how you feel about the garden. A garden always looks so much nicer when all the plants look healthy and vigorous.
Go shopping
The removal of the plants coming to the end of their days will leave holes in the garden. Nature abhors bare earth and will quickly look to fill it with whatever is available, which is usually weeds, so it is in the best interests of the garden that you take yourself to the garden centre and buy new plants to fill the gaps. While a garden centre is fraught with temptation, bear in mind what you are looking for. You’ll need something that will blend in seamlessly into the aesthetic you have going on, or something that will pick up the baton and carry the garden through into autumn. And with full permission to fill your trolley, it is better to buy several of the same plants, for a dramatic statement, than a hodgepodge of different kinds that get dotted about the garden.
It is suggested that it is a good idea to go to the garden centre once a month throughout the year and buy some plants in flower so you will constantly have something beautiful to look at.
In the edible garden you will be looking for cool season seedlings or seeds. It may seem too soon to be thinking about the winter harvest, however most of these crops, while they do well in the cold of winter, generally need the lingering warmth of summer to get them going. If you are over hot, sticky, sleepless nights, looking forward to heart-warming winter soups around a cozy fire, may be just what you need to get excited again.
Make life easy for yourself
As much as weeding can be a chore and the least liked task in the garden, whipping around the garden once a week to remove the smallest weeds can be done so quickly it barely feels like a job at all. A little and often approach can save you from the arduous backbreaking work of wrenching out tough old weeds with their roots tethered to the centre of the earth.
It can also be a good idea to top up your mulch. Not only will it give the garden a fresh look but will help lock moisture in and lock weeds out.
On the topic of moisture, plants can become parched quickly at this time of year, and if your watering technique is arduous then you become less inclined to water the garden well.
If you water your garden by lugging watering cans from a tap that feels too far from the garden, save yourself the effort by setting up an underground pipeline system that will bring the water source closer to your garden. You can also store your hose on a hose trolley that will make transporting water so much easier. There is nothing more pleasant than ending the day with the hose in one hand and a glass of your favourite beverage in the other.
The ideal easy way to water is with a micro irrigation system. Although it involves some planning and initial effort to set up, the peace of mind that comes from knowing the garden is being regularly well-watered without any effort is priceless.
Be mindful
Oftentimes a keen gardener looks at the garden and only notices what needs to be done and sees only the niggly bits. Spend time in the garden with an intentionally different mindset. If you don’t already have one, position a comfy chair in a nice spot and take some time to really notice nature. Drink in the sights and sounds, notice the birds, admire the colours, the way the light and shade dance together under the trees. Lose yourself to the wonder of the garden and ignore the work still to be done – it will always be there.
Make a change
And finally, if the garden bothers you so much that you don’t actually like it, change it. You don’t always need to have what you have always had – make plans for a complete makeover in the cooler months. A change is as good as a holiday and having an exciting project to throw yourself into can spark a passion and renew a love of the garden. You could even grow your own Valentine’s roses.
