Question Authority

- by Debra Anchors

(c) Pamela Perry

I do that every day in my garden, weighing my own experience against conventional wisdom. I started gardening because it brings me pleasure. I’m not afraid of the work involved but it would drive me crazy trying to follow a rule book  Too many books contain liberal uses of the word “should”, as in “you should cut this back now” and “you should spray this now” and “you should work yourself into a coma in pursuit of the perfect beautiful garden now.”

Nearly every gardening book ever written advises that it’s best to water in the early morning. That’s probably true, mainly because there’s less evaporation then. But when the mercury hovers near the century mark for a couple of weeks I can’t get everything soaked by breakfast. I’ve got to water when I can – in between work, appointments and day-to-day living. I’m sure some water is lost to evaporation, but it beats a border of dead plants.

Gardeners often make too much work for themselves. They run around pruning shrubs into tight little balls, scratching like hens in the soil between plants, spraying “preventatively” for insects (this is like taking antibiotics before you catch the flu), and generally doing tasks that make little sense to me.

I prefer to enjoy the summer garden. Rules were meant to be broken. 

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Leave a legacy, but garden like you’ll live forever! 
-Debra

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