ALBANY — All living things are aging and, in theory at least, all mature at the same rate of speed.
Why, then, does it seem that my garden is aging oh-so-beautifully, while the GARDENER?? My aching knees and back, more arthritic hands, my decreasing stamina…aging gracefully is NOT how I would describe myself.
So, what is a gardener to do? My love for my gardens is NOT decreasing at the same rate as my stamina. In fact, like my ever-growing love for my beautiful grandchildren, the many lovely “babies” I’ve placed so carefully around my landscape are the jewels of my dawning golden years! How could I just quit them?
One of my favorite garden writers – Sydney Eddison – apparently shares my plight – and has written a book that jumped off the shelves and into my fretting hands. The title promised answers to these growing questions of mine…. “Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as you Grow Older.” It’s a gem; find it and you too will be wiser!
Here follows some of her sage advice… and some of mine:
1) Prioritize!! As you constantly assess and reassess your family of perennial plants, be on the lookout for lazy or difficult performers. If a plant doesn’t “really” earn its keep – be vicious, be strong! Send it down the road to a (younger) gardening friend – or to the compost!!
2) Replace labor intensive perennials with shrubs- whose lovely season-long foliage and sometimes flowers too- come with far less maintenance demands. That is, if chosen and placed wisely!
3) Consider ground covers – for the same reasons; with both shrubs and ground covers – there are SO many handsome choices.
4) Mulch, mulch, mulch!! The reasons are many. (Subject for another article) The appearance is well worth the cost and energy spent.
5) Cut back your perennials gradually throughout the season, rather than all at once at season’s end (which is guaranteed to give aching muscles or even injury). By spreading this chore out over several months, it becomes less overwhelming, and feels more like pleasant grooming time spent among your flowers. As a perennial’s blossoms pass, cut it back to its lowest leaves, or even to the crown. The resultant flush of fresh growth will quickly fill the gap, be lovelier than expected, and carry through winter’s chills as a low “snow trap,” helping to insulate the plant’s crown against freezing or frost heave.
6) Think about your legacy. This gorgeous, unique landscape you’ve created over a lifetime of devoted love and labor will be ONE. But, the wise advice and mentoring you have shared over the same years will no doubt be even more lasting. And speaking of mentoring….is there a budding (pun!) young gardener near you who would covet the opportunity of learning from your accumulated wisdom and tricks – in exchange for spending some free or very affordable hours assisting with some of the more unwieldy, but still necessary aspects of garden upkeep?
7) On that same note – learn to be honest with yourself (maybe one of life’s hardest lessons!) and know when to ask for help! Surely there is someone for whom you’ve done many favors, who would love the chance to repay you.
8) Learn to accept a different standard of perfection. Doubtless, one reason your garden has matured so beautifully is due to your perfectionism. But, as a garden ages and the gaps between specimens fill in, the sweeping clumps of mingled plants may allow your grooming efforts and hours to relax a little.
9) Switch your focus to containers or raised beds. (Word of warning- don’t allow the numbers or size of those containers to become the next great problem!) Maybe a couple of raised beds, built closer to your door than the remainder of this burdensome landscape, will suffice in feeding your continuing passions. Lift some of those star perennials from a distant border and move them to your new miniature landscape.
10) Giveaways!! Don’t we all love the shared plants from lifelong gardening friends, which so enrich the garden experience?! Bonus—you still get to enjoy visiting those treasured plants in your friends’ gardens- while enjoying someone else’s hard labor!
That’s life…a continual cycle of seasons, passions, creative solutions, learning and WONDER!!
—Master Gardener Volunteer Debbie MacCrea
Cornell Cooperative Extension
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