A New Approach to Gardening – For Me

I have discovered something this spring I thought I would share with all my right brained friends out there.  Maybe you already knew this and can suggest more to take this a step further. 

I’ve always loved the creation part of any project – you know – dream, design, envision, etc.  I am not really good with the maintenance part of things.  Yet I do realize that nothing gets accomplished if that’s my way of life! 

Because of this, I have generally been an on again off again gardener.  If the creation bug hits, I’m all over designing and ride the wave of energy for installation and just forget about maintenance!  What I discovered the last two weeks is that if I do not plan the gardening and create as I purchase and plant, I suddenly have made gardening a bit of an art media for me!

It started with sending James to Lowe’s and asking him to pick out a three flats of annuals.  He brought home three flats of petunias – two purple and one white – and then one of dwarf yellow and red marigolds.  I had a space to fill and only so much to work with, so I started creating organic shapes and curves on the fly.  The next week there were two more flats of pink petunias and one of snapdragons.  There will be more next week, but here’s it so far… Part of the “beauty” is my lack of maintenance also adds areas open to this creation.  For example, one “should” separate irises every 2-3 years otherwise they crowd themselves to oblivion.  I know this - do I do anything about it????  So I started painting in that void with another half flat of marigolds to counter with the first in the far corner in the picture above.  What intrigues me is that this could be a dynamic thing – a blank sheet of paper each year that changes size and shape.  My short attention span has a chance not to get bored with this!

Now Raven and Shadow have taken up their own style of gardening in the back yard this spring as well.  Has anyone seen a new gardening style that attempts to mimic the Grand Canyon with holes, caverns and ditches???? Shadow typically only would dig to bury a rawhide or to dig it up.  In any case, these were shallow, even discrete holes.  Raven on the other hand LOVES to dig.  She goes until she finds cool dirt spreads it about and lies down in it.  Then Shadow is simply fascinated by the new smells so deep in the ground and opens up the hole – you can see where he took the bricks out below – but there’s Raven starting a new hole!  Yee Haw! Fortunately they are labs who clean up easily.  They took to the couch immediately that night – no room for me, so I’d am left to get some weaving done (Oh darn!) I did get one more wedge finished!