Confessions of a lazy gardener

Raspberries grow wild all along the side of our house and yard.

Raspberries grow all along the north side of our house, but we never planted them.  When we first moved into our house, grass was there.  It's an awfully shady spot to keep grass growing without tons of effort.  Our neighbor had planted raspberries, which at some point made the leap over to our side.  We opted to let them go, and they've been spreading ever since and providing us with lots of fresh, free raspberries every summer.  We don't do much to take care of them.  Maybe I pull out the dead wood and branches in the spring.  Occasionally I motivate myself to fight the good fight with the garlic mustard that has invaded in recent years.  Besides raspberries, I also never planted dill in my yard.  Yet it sprouts up everywhere, and it's more than we ever use.  The Black Swallowtail butterflies lay their eggs on dill, and we like to raise those caterpillars into butterflies.  So I let it be.

dill along the border of my vegetable garden

milkweed growing among the strawberries

Milkweed is also for butterflies.  Several years ago, I pulled some from a crack in the cement at the playground and transplanted it in my yard.  We love to raise Monarch butterflies.  The milkweed would be everywhere if allowed, and I have to pull some out if I want room to plant my vegetable garden.  The strawberries would also take over if I let them.  We started with a small plant and now have a large patch that just yielded a nice little crop of delicious strawberries.  I vaguely remember planting oregano many years ago.  Similar to the strawberries and the milkweed, it would gladly take over my entire garden.  But we live in the city, with a small yard, and so I need to be protective of my little gardening area.  I need to make room for the other things I want to grow.   

I plant my garden quite enthusiastically in late May and early June.  I love watching things grow.  How long will it take the seeds to germinate?  When will those tiny bits of green poke through the soil?  I'm outside checking every day.  That's the most exciting part for me.  When the plants flower and the beginnings of the fruit or vegetable appear, I start watching more closely again.  This year we planted from seed: cucumber, zucchini, acorn squash, lettuce, swiss chard, spinach, carrots, peas, beans, cantaloupe, basil, parsley, and cilantro.  Most of the seeds where leftover from last year or the year before.  We also bought five tomato plants and one bell pepper. 

Besides growing food, we have a lot of lovely shrubs and perennials in various parts of our yard.  Some of these were bought, but many were given to us by family or friends.  When I see the day lilies along the side of our house, I think of my dad.  He would religiously dig up and divide the day lilies and hostas every few years and then pass on the extras to his children to plant at our houses.  A couple of bushes also came from my parents.  This year a friend gave me a wild rose, some wild geranium and spearmint - three new additions to our garden.  I also have some showy perennials that I bought and planted on purpose, like my much-loved peonies and my clematis vine.  And I like to throw in a few zinnia seeds every year, wherever I can find a spot.  Their cheerful and bright flowers make me happy.

I love watching all this stuff grow, but I am not an entirely dedicated gardener.  My interest tends to wane by about the beginning of July.  Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy watching the garden and harvesting from it.  It's just the weeding, watering and care-taking part that I get a bit lazy about.  Weeding is one of my least favorite tasks.  Seriously - if you see me outside weeding extensively, I'm clearly avoiding or procrastinating on some other dreaded task.  And I also tend to let things wander, go wild and go to seed.  I'm entirely remiss when it comes to pruning.  And, scandalous but true, I don't over-worry about harvesting every last fruit or vegetable.  Sure, we pick most of the strawberries.  But if the robins get in there and eat up the fruit we neglected, we're still feeding someone.  I generally overestimate the amount of salad that I'm actually going to eat, and end up with an abundance of lettuce and spinach.  I do give it away to neighbors and friends.  But if some of it just fills in space that used to be grass or a flower garden, or if it feeds some bunnies, then that's okay too.  I'm a lazy gardener, but I love my garden.  Growing things helps me feel connected to the earth and my environment.

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I've always loved the Garden Song, which was written by David Mallett.  I most remember it performed by Raffi, on a CD we listened to a lot when the kids were little.  Below are the lyrics that I remember from that version.  I also found a video of Pete Seeger singing the song, with slightly different and still beautiful lyrics.  Interspersed are some photos from my garden.   

Garden Song

Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
All it takes is a rake and a hoe
And a piece of fertile ground

blooming day lilies

Inch by inch, row by row
Someone bless these seeds I sow
Someone warm them from below 

Till the rain comes tumblin' down

lots of lettuce

Pullin' weeds and pickin' stones

Man is made of dreams and bones
Feel the need to grow my own 

'Cause the time is close at hand

uh-oh, i spy aphids on my tomatoes

Rainful rain, sun and rain
Find my way in nature's chain
Tune my body and my brain

To the music from the land

peas to be picked

Plant your rows straight and long
Temper them with prayer and song
Mother Earth will make you strong

If you give her love and care

climbing beans

Old crow watchin' hungrily
From his perch in yonder tree
In my garden I'm as free

As that feathered thief up there

nasturtium overflowing onto the sidewalk

Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
All it takes is a rake and a hoe 

And a piece of fertile ground

clematis

An inch by inch, row by row
Someone bless these seeds I sow
Someone warm them from below
Till the rain comes tumblin' down