Four resolutions ‘real gardeners’ fail to keep

  • By Steve Smith Special to The Herald
  • Tuesday, December 29, 2015 4:25pm
  • Life

I first wrote this piece in 2001, and 15 years later it still feels relevant. It’s encouraging to know that the true attributes of a “real gardener” haven’t changed.

“Next year I promise not to buy any more plants until I have planted all the ones that are currently stored in the garage because I didn’t get around to planting them this year.”

No “real gardener” would ever put these kinds of constraints on themselves. After all, compulsive plant buying is a sign of a healthy, well-adjusted gardener. Just think of those plants as a portable test garden. If the plant can’t survive at least two seasons of being moved in and out of the garage, then it probably isn’t worthy of being planted. I usually manage to kill at least 30 percent of them every year by forgetting to water or letting the slugs decimate them or shoving them so close together that they suffocate each other before they ever get a chance to be planted. By the time I do get around to finding a home for them, they are tough as nails.

“My tool shed is going to be perfectly organized next year so I can always find what I need when I need it.”

Oh right, a place for everything and everything in its place. Show me a gardener who is that organized and I’ll bet money that it doesn’t stay that way for long. Dodging rakes and falling shovels helps us stay alert, sharpens our reflexes and keeps our muscles toned. And as for tool maintenance, don’t get me started. Oiling tools and cleaning the lawn mower at the end of the season only delays the excitement of shopping for replacements. “Real gardeners” long for the opportunity to acquire new and exotic gardening tools.

“Next year, I won’t plant things too close together. I might even read the plant tags before planting.”

Now this is a novel concept, actually reading all those descriptive tags that nursery professionals provide for us. “Real gardeners” would never lower themselves to the level of reading tags. That’s for the amateur. We buy plants because they are “cool” and because we have to have them. We design by impulse, buying a plant and then finding a place for it. As for planting too close together? Impossible! We all know that there is strength in numbers. Crowded plants hold each other up and they choke out weeds. We don’t have to spend money or take the time to stake things up. Opulence, exuberance, and immoderation are the hallmark of a “real gardener”. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.

“This year I’m going to stake my perennials before they bloom and pinch my mums so they aren’t 8 feet tall by September.”

These are classic examples of timely chores that “real gardeners” can’t be bothered with. I have these wonderful “grow through rings” for my peonies somewhere in the gardening shed that are designed to be put over the peonies while they are still small (before they set their flower buds). Haven’t got them on once in five years. But that’s why they make “link stakes”, bamboo stakes and stretch ties. Regarding fall blooming perennials like asters and mums that need pinching in June to keep them compact and bushy, I do manage to accomplish that task, but only because I own a gas powered hedge trimmer with a 30-inch bar that allows me to “pinch” them in about 30 seconds. “Real gardeners” love power tools.

Steve Smith is owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville and can be reached online at info@sunnysidenursery.net.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.