The slow gardening movement

I can't remember who it was I spoke to (by which I probably mean "had an email exchange with") recently about "slow gardening"  - maybe it was fellow blogger Allan Shepherd - but it's something I am dwelling on at the moment.

Since moving into the new house in late August, I have managed to plant up a few containers, repot a Japanese maple, plant about half my spring bulbs, fill a compost bin and pick a lot of plums and pears. Oh, and apply grease bands. And keep my wormery happy. And sow some salads, foxgloves and herbs.

Wow, it sounds like a lot more than it looks when I write it all down, but when I look outside all I can see are the numerous tasks that I can't get around to yet - either lack of time to plan (replacing decking, getting garden office rebuilt) or time to get stuck into big jobs (ripping out garden path and increasing size of borders) or just a lack of five minutes to spae (removing mummified fruit from plum tree, collecting leaves for leaf mould) are to blame. (Not to mention the piffling matter of money for such serious hard landscaping ...)

So I have to remember that gardening is meant to be about enjoying the outdoors, not ticking a list of jobs to be completed and getting stressed when I don't meet my expectations. And that, like the bulk of people who read this blog and the gardens features in Weekend, which I edit, are in the same boat: not so much Ground Force as Ground to a Complete Stop at this time of year.

I am trying to stop mentally beating myslf up that my garden won't win a Chelsea medal for the forseeable future and start setting myself more realistic targets. This month's target is to get the rest of my bulbs planted,  and put a couple of thyme plants alongside the Erigeron karvinskianus in the front garden. December targets (yes, I do plan ahead!) are putting a new tap on the wormery and sorting out a leaking water butt. Yes, I do love to live the high life ...

Comments

[emma t]

Never mind slow gardening, what about slow blogging?

I was thinking about you saying that actually when you write it down it seems you've done more than you thought. The interesting thing about to-do lists is that they often don't reflect what you have actually achieved. You get obsessed about what you haven't ticked. But if at the end of the day you write a sort of reverse to-do list of what you have actually done, you will always be pleasantly surprised at how much it is. (Hint; include "dashed out to Sainsburys for more milk"; "put sheets in dryer" etc. ) It's a really nice way to celebrate the fact that actually we do achieve LOADS.

[Shona]

Thank goodness it's not just me! One of the things I love about gardening is that 'to do' lists are somehow irrelevant. There's always plenty to do and prepare for, so it's just a matter of choosing what you'd like to spend today doing, if you have any time for the garden.

[Allotment Blogger]

I have to-do-list despair too, and I'd never thought of it as Emma says, but you do always end up doing a lot more things than you started out doing - putting a new tap on a water butt (interesting that we share water butt tasks) included picking up used canes on the way there, kicking some leaves off the path and then making a heap to collect on your way back, checking on the fish in the pond, and bagging up the leaves for leaf mould. Not so bad, really.

[Matron]

My biggest revelation over the past few years is discovering methods of 'no dig' gardening. Not that I don't occasionally have to fork over a patch, but I clear the ground and put compost mulch over the surface. The worms dig it for me, long gone are the sweaty days of double spit digging for me!

[Lucy @ Smallest Smallholding]

I have developed a tactic; it's called tunnel vision, but in a good way. Sort of. I just focus on one small part of the whole picture,and work on it. If I look at everything that needs doing I end up retreating indoors, feeling a bit huffy.

[Natshed]

I've dispensed with to do lists as they are always too ambitious and remind you what you havent done not what you achieved. The mantra in my head on my allotment is always 'It's a marathon not a sprint'

My favourite garden advice is from Christopher Lloyd paraphrased somewhat "the best time to do a job in the garden is when you fancy doing it" this works for me and puts the fun back into each job

[Lawn Equipment]

Gardening is always meant to be an enjoying work to me, Its involves proper planning, about the plants, ground works etc. Hardwork also involved.

Kelly

[Scott Mann]

My family has taken the "slow" approach to most facets of our lives but are reminded by our to-do lists that we are getting things done even when we feel like we are not.

Letting go and not abusing yourself about the failures takes more work than my garden but the rewards allow me to enjoy life, and therefore my garden, much much more.

[Johnebook]

My garden to-do list is really just a memory jogger and a prioritizer. I always add and check off things that I've done that aren't on the list. It reinforces my memory and reminds me of other things that I need to put on the list.

Johnebook