Sunday, June 06, 2010

Are Gardeners A Miserable Bunch?

Gardeners are always moaning aren't they?  The weathers not right - it's too wet, it's too dry.  There are too many pests in the garden - the slugs have eaten the prize dahlias.

As a gardner and allotment holder I tend to do this.  The best laid plans never work out quite the way you thought.  I don't think that makes me miserable though, nor do I consider it to be moaning.  It's simply part of the challenge.  I guess that might make us a little sad, but there you go.

Take this year for example.  We've had a really hard winter.  I had my plot all planned out where things were going to grow.  Which overwintering crops I was going to sow.  I did all of these things, and then it snowed.  The snow stayed around for over two weeks.  It killed most of my overwintering crops.  Those it didn't kill are going to have such reduced yields that it hardly seems like it's worth bothering.  The cold winter has also meant that a lot of other plants have taken much longer, or in some cases (like my runner beans) several goes to even get seed to germinate.  It's all part of the challenge.  If we didn't enjoy the eventual outcomes of our labours we probably wouldn't bother. 

It's a hobby that could easily become a way of life without much trouble at all.  It's far more relaxing than that daily grind in an office.

Posted via web from Small Suburban Garden

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