Growing Patience -- Intro to Gardening

We Americans have this annoying little habit:
we want our home and gardens to be 
picture perfect the day we move in.

I suppose you could say it drives the economy

 but, frankly, it drives me nuts. 

I once saw a garden show 

featuring a large, beautiful English garden.
Gardens, actually, as they covered an estate.

The gardener gave some rather liberating advice. 

He pointed out our lack of patience

over here on this side of the pond, 

saying we want everything perfect right now.

National Botanica of Ireland

But a real garden takes time.  Years.

With big gardens such as those, 

hundreds of years even. 

I don't write that to freak you out--

I write it to make you relax! 

Chester, England

I should cut us a little slack...

America does have a shorter history, 
 and, in most areas, a more varied climate.

Still, we are so impatient and
we often forget the reward of investing 
our own thoughts, time and work.

And then wonder why our garden doesn't

look like, and produce like, the one

we saw in the magazine--a still life
 of a growing garden.

We should take a much more practical 

approach to gardening.

One that we can grow with, rather than tired of.

One that doesn't overwhelm us 

but inspires us to do more as we learn.

Not a quick-fix that fizzles but the kind of approach

that slowly, year after year, becomes a rewarding 

pastime that enriches our health, 

and our spirit as a bonus.

I've written about my garden in the past.

But it is always changing, as is my knowledge
and ideas.  Plus, I'm enjoying it more than ever. 

I've decided to go a little deeper into 

my own personal gardening experience 

and, over the next few weeks, maybe I can 

inspire a different and more rewarding approach

 to any aspiring gardeners out there?

Growing the Dream:  Part 2
The Question of Time:  Part 3
Growing Space:  Part 4

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