The Gardener and his Garden
The gardener
The Beginner.
Gardeners! well first of all we have the beginner. Remember the time when first you realised that ornamental gardening was going to become your hobby and great interest. Were you like me, couldn’t possibly read enough on the subject. Gardening was an experiment, you were only ever going to learn by your own successes and failures.
It was unlikely that at this early stage you had a greenhouse to raise the half hardy annuals, so like me you probably just chanced your luck sowing directly outdoors. Wasn’t it surprising to find just how much success you did have. Then there was the visits to the garden centres, we were never away from the places. Anything that took your fancy you just had to get, didn’t matter where in the garden it was going to go or whether or not they complimented each other. You loved your garden and at this stage were probably unaware whether or not it was tasteful or not to anyone else’s eyes. You were now well and truly hooked.
_______________________
The Amateur
Right, so now you have been gardening for a year or so, no longer a complete novice, but in fact a fully fledged Amateur, just like myself, and likely you always will be.
You now know a helluva lot more than you did when first you started out. You know the difference between perennials and annuals, when and how to prune Roses and when to apply the lawn feeding. Are you also surprised at how the plant names are being retained in that head of yours, good! well by the time you reach my age you will start forgetting them again and possibly start keeping an on-line record of them.
Although you will never know everything about gardening it will still be a great journey of discovery. You will probably always experiment with plants. However there just has to come a time when you start to think, why do I love gardening so much, well its not just for the satisfaction of growing these beautiful plants, there is something else which you must do (create a blooming garden.) Its no good continually harping on about the garden styles which you don’t like, start thinking and planning for a garden which you will like.
It wont necessarily come to you easily but get on with it, trial and error, no one else can really help you. One July morning you will look out of the window and (Wow.)
No matter how happy you are with your garden now, somewhere down the line you may well take it into your head to change the whole blooming thing and start all over again. This is a link to the beautiful garden of my friend Larry
________________________
The Professional
We all need their help from time to time. Tree pruning for instance, generally speaking I have done it myself. However there comes a time when it would be foolhardy to chance it, especially when you have reached the Autumn of your life, late fall in my case.
This blogging thing has put me in touch with some real gardening experts who are only too willing to pass on their expertise. Michael Thompson, working as a full time gardener in Dorset finds time to blog about his experience as a gardener in an English country estate.Check out his blog, you will be glad that you did. Hazel tree
Now head across the Atlantic and visit Carolyn, here is a very busy lady who runs a nursery specialising in plants for those shady spots in your garden. A true expert who is so very helpful with her knowledge you will wonder how you managed without her, a real expert on Hellebores, pay her a visit on a truly inspiring blog. Carolyns shade garden
_______________________
Well I suppose we are at the end of our little journey. Remember do enjoy your garden whichever route you may take. Gardeners by their very nature want to share their gardens and experiences with you. Even those gardens which may not be to your taste at the moment, there is no reason why you should not take pleasure in what gives them great delight.
© 2011 – 2016, Alistair. All rights reserved.
Your garden is gorgeous! Loved when you said you were surprised with how much you could recall – then as you got older, you started forgetting! haha I’m there! It is very nice of the professionals to spread their knowledge. I look forward to checking out all your links.
Thanks Holley, I enjoyed your garden tour, I will have to catch up with your more recent ones.
Great post. And like you said, most of us will find ourselfs in the Amateur category for the rest of our lives. But once your hooked on gardening, there is no turning back.
Alistair,
According to your criteria, I can claim to be a “fully fledged amateur”, but then that would put me in the same category as you! I feel comfortable with the title “no longer a complete novice”.
Thanks for linking to my blog, and thanks even more for your support & advice from the beginning.
b-a-g, just a little fun post, already I find by your posts and comments on them that you are well and truly a gardener.
Alistair, I don’t think anyone has ever said anything nicer about me or anything I appreciated more. Thank you. I was especially taken by your insightful comment in the first paragraph: “Gardening was an experiment, you were only ever going to learn by your own successes and failures.” Almost everything important I have learned about gardening has come from trying things, experimenting with plants, changing what I have done, and especially failing and killing plants. There is no such thing as a green thumb, just a love of plants and gardening and a will to persevere. Carolyn
Thank you Carolyn, for sharing your information with us.
Tree pruning? Late fall – I do hope not.
And SOMEONE has been taking the plant names out of my memory. I used to look at my plants and know who they were. Now I sometimes struggle, and give up.
Gardening, blogging, a new language. They keep moving the goalposts. You think you know how to … and then you find a whole new layer to learn.
Naw Diana, you are still too young to be forgetting, and have I really said tree pruning in late fall, I am even forgetting what I write. I will probably sort it out.
You little devil, I always fall !! for it, Why did I even say fall, I am not American.
Hi Alistair… as I was perusing your post and thinking about how lovely your gardens are, I was surprised to see the link to my blog… thank you! I still am really impressed with your begonia/dusty miller combo, so I bought a package of Senecio cineraria which we call dusty miller. Turns out every one of the 5000 seeds (which was the smallest package I found on short notice) germinated! I hate disposing of perfectly good plants, but these are a bit too many! I’m going to be combining the rose colored “big” series fibrous begonias with red foliage along with the silver plants. I think they should do well about the gazebo as it is difficult to get water back there for touchier plants. Our night time temps are finally above freezing so we are on the road to Spring ‘busting out all over’ Lots of rain in the forecast as well and I’m grateful for it. I am off to transplanting… the high school young people are coming for their prom pictures in late afternoon and it looks like the weather will actually cooperate. We enjoy being able to provide the site for photography as it is a simple way we can ‘give back ‘ to the community. Do take good care… Larry
Larry, I should think 5000 Dusty Miller is too much even in your garden, I wonder which Dusty Miller it takes its name from. I am looking forward to seeing your garden in Summer again.
By the information you write and images of your garden that you post, you have moved well beyond amateur status. There are many fine bloggers with so much to offer, yourself being one of the best.
Thank you for the kind words Donna, however unless we earn money from an interest then we are of course amateurs.
Haha, Alistair, you described me to a tee in your summation of “The Beginner”.
Your gardens is in a word, BEAUTIFUL! I am so fortunate to be learning from you and the many other Gurus I’ve “met” on Blotanical. Thank you xxx
Thanks Christine, I am almost enjoying the blogging as much as the gardening, well maybe not quite. I do go over it again and again and make changes when I think that makes you sound like a right smart arse Alistair.
Was my comment too complimentary? It was true!
Hi Donna, enlighten me further, please.
No need, my comment finally showed, but not my little jeep avatar. I guess it was a WP issue since I did not get the reply email. Though you were being modest, since you always comment back. LOL.
Aw, got you now, I always reply but sometimes it takes me a little longer in getting around to it.
I think the older I get, and the more fanatical a gardener, the more I experiment. I still hate failing, but it does spur me on. I love your last sentence, ” there is no reason why you should not take pleasure in what gives them great delight.” I think that is one of the things I love about blogging, you get to share in other’s triumphs and disasters, and even if they do grow something you hate, you can still enjoy their enjoyment and sympathise when they lose something precious.
Thanks Janet, similar wavelength, I even enjoy reading about your vegetables in spite of my little knowledge.
How wonderful and true your post is…I love so many styles that when someone asks my style I am hard pressed to answer…this blogging has put me in touch with so many new styles of gardening and gardeners to learn from…I love your gardens and will never be a professional either…I learn constantly and am never afraid to keep trying…this will be my second year at the veggie garden and what an experience that is…so your words of wisdom are great…get out there and just try…risk failure for the fun of it…after all gardening is fun…
Yes Donna, I agree gardening is fun although many people would think us crazy. My brother always says, its like watching paint dry, nothing seems to happen, you wait and wait and end up disappointed.
You are right they do think us crazy…I know many of my neighbors do…I have learned to ignore them almost 🙂
Hi Alistair – a nice resumee of a gardeners progress through the pitfalls of ignorance. Have just about cured myself of the pick a plant you fancy and hope for the best! Always a pleasure to stop by and see your garden as well as try to remember all the plant info you provide. You’re a blooming good garden blogger too 😉
Thanks Laura, I enjoy my weekly visit to your garden.
What a fun journey! I was thinking a lot yesterday about what I did when I first started gardening. It wasn’t a terribly long time ago but it is still hard to remember when I used to try to plant cosmos seeds in rock-hard clay and wondered why they never grew very tall.
Cultivating weeds was one of my favourites Eliza.
Really enjoying reading your blog! I grew up in Aberdeen and now live in Canada, in an even harsher climate. I’d forgotten the challenges of gardening in the North East of Scotland, and it’s fascinating to contrast those challenges with those I’m facing in my garden on the shores of Lake Ontario. I’ve just recently started a garden blog, mostly to help me document my progress from year to year, so that I can learn from my mistakes instead of repeating them from season to season. Check it out at http://mymimicomaison.blogspot.com/
Welcome to my site Donald, strangely enough Aberdeen has been anything but harsh this Spring.
I think you are a professional already in your own right Alistair, just looking at the way your garden has matured 🙂
A lovely and insightful post that I agree with!
Mark and Gaz, thanks for your comments, I always enjoy my visit to your site to see what you are getting up to and of course to enjoy your wonderful garden.
Many thanks Alistair for the link…sadly, or perhaps happily, as we grow older we realise we have forgotten more than we ever knew but by that time we have instinct and intuition to fall back on…which is just as well sometimes!
Instinct and intuition, Now that’s a line I will remember Mike.
Oh Gaelic! Even better. No wonder there is music in your name. Do you speak Gaelic?
No Diana, in spite of the name I am very much a lowlander.
I enjoyed the pictures of your garden through the season – so beautiful. I will never become professional – the more I garden, the more I realize I don’t know.
Thanks Masha, fortunately we can enjoy gardening without being professional.
Your post is great! Is always great to see how we reflect on our path and see how much we have grown. I can still see my little garden when it still had only one plant only two years ago.
Yes Fer, gardening still brings me as much pleasure now as it did so many years ago.