Yesterday I took a friend on a little tour through my garden.
Frankly, it was embarrassing.
I knew I hadn’t spent much time in my garden
For weeks.
But I hadn’t realized what bad shape it was in.
It has a major case of “the flops”.
Between the rain
And Peg looking for bunny rabbits
Plants – especially cockscomb – have fallen down everywhere.
Paths are almost impassable.
Weeds are well…being weedy.
It isn’t pretty.
Luckily, today was a spectacular day.
Cool with a high of around 65 degrees.
And cloudy all day long.
So I spent the day doing what I should have done all along the way.
Cutting back
Pulling out.
I think I have mentioned before
I have a problem of shall we say “editing”.
I let too many tiny seedlings
Grow into giant plants.
Too much of a good thing like cockscomb
Will strangle even a rose bush.
Rosa Julia Child and New England Asters
Tomato plants run amuck
Will completely shade other plants into oblivion.
So even though it’s very late in the season.
I’m whacking away.
Hopefully they’ll be time for all of this to recover.
And just in case there isn’t.
I’m throwing lettuce seed in all the empty spaces.
It’s a little late for that, too.
But what the heck
You never know
If you don’t try.
So the lesson here is simple.
From time to time
You have to cut things back
Or completely pull them up and compost them.
Begin again.
As the decades roll by its harder and harder to do that.
At least for me.
Familiar is comfortable.
Safe.
But then you end up living in the shade of your past.
You just don’t grow as much in that shade.
Not good
For roses
Or for people.
Fall officially begins next week.
Enjoy,
Gail
In My Garden 