Wednesday, March 7, 2012

My Goal

I went outside to take a few pictures.  And as I looked around, I noticed some weeds.  Of course.


It's been a bad year for weeds in my garden.  Due in part to the mild weather.  Due also in part to my not finishing the mulching.  I never finish the mulching.

As I began to weed, joy filled my heart.  I worked, not with an 'I've-got-to-get-all-these-weeds-out-of-here" attitude, but with an "I-can-enjoy-letting-my-mind-wander" kind of attitude.  I wasn't really weeding to get rid of the weeds.  I was weeding just to be out in the garden.


And I remembered something I read a long time ago.  (Pay attention - this is important.)

It was a story written by a garden magazine photographer.  He (or was it she?) said that every garden she (or was it he?) had photographed had weeds.  Every one.  In fact, there had been one garden that was so weedy, it had been challenging to take a photograph!


I remember that story each time I weed, and I smile.  It's such a great lesson for any gardener, but especially for new gardeners.  Gardens are rarely, if ever, perfect.

Which is fine, because perfection is not my goal.  Don't get me wrong.  I would love to have the perfect garden.  I would love for visitors to see a weedless garden.  But I know that will never happen.  So, that is not my goal.


My goal is delight.  Delight in a bloom.  Delight in the life in my garden.  Delight in the changes, the seasons, the colors, the scents, the surprises.  The pictures in this post are from this spring, and I have delighted in every tiny bloom.

Donna of Gardens Eye View has started a meme called Seasonal Celebrations.  Beth at Plant Postings has a meme called Garden Lessons Learned.  As Beth wrote, "Lessons Learned looks backward to the recent past, while Seasonal Celebrations looks ahead".  I wondered how one could look forward and look back at the same time.


Then I remembered the lesson.

As I look forward to a new season, I will work toward my goal:

Not perfection, but delight.


And with those few words, I can look forward to Seasonal Celebrations and look back and remember the Lesson Learned.  Today I'm joining both Donna's and Beth's memes.

60 comments:

  1. What a worthy goal in and OUT of the garden both!

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    1. So true! Sometimes perfection is impossible to reach.

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  2. That's very encouraging, because I have weeds among my blooms too.

    Perfection isn't the goal for me, but enjoyment is.

    Happy Gardening ~ FlowerLady

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    1. I think enjoyment is the goal for a lot of gardeners. And most of the time, we're the only ones that see the weeds.

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  3. Sometimes perfection is boring, especially in a garden.

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  4. Perfect post for the memes Holley...whatever lesson I learn are my celebrations for the new season....I bring them forward with me! I love that while we can strive for perfection in our gardens, it may not bring us the delight we are after...better to strive for delight however it manifests...I am encouraged now that my weeds will photograph as lovely as my flowers and they are always going to be there...I can move beyond that worry of weeds now...fabulous!!

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    1. It's so much better to see the little delights in the garden rather than just the weeds. It all depends upon our focus.

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  5. Lovely idea Holley, focus on the moment and enjoy it.

    Pretty photos too, what is the next to last one?

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    1. That's my crabapple tree just beginning to bloom!

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  6. Hi Holley, well this is a post that every gardener can relate too, I guess. I am a perfectionist by nature and have a hard time dealing with things that are not perfect in the garden and elsewhere, but I know in general this is not a good trait and I am working on it. I think your goal "Not perfection, but delight" should become my new mantra :-)!
    Christina

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    1. I think I need a bit more perfectionist in me - sometimes the weeds get so large I'm the only one *not* bothered by them! :)

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  7. I understand entirely about never finisheing the mulching.. well spring is here so let's just get on with the spring things....

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    1. Yes, whatever chores I don't get finished, oh well - I just move on to the next!

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  8. Perfection is a state of mind, and not necessarily just lack of flaws. And what is delightful can be perfection :)

    And it's sometimes nice to be just out in the garden doing something, like weeding. Can be relaxing in its own right :)

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    1. I think you're right - I would be pretty delighted if my garden were perfect! ;)

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  9. A lovely post! I've found that weedy flower-beds don't look so weedy in photographs as in real-life ... or maybe it's just that my photos are out of focus.

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    1. haha - I've found that, too. It's amazing to be able to take photos, and then look up and see weeds that have been edited out! :)

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  10. Wouldn't it be nice if our garden weed free?. I wish I can set up a goal for my garden too. Good luck with yours Holley!

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    1. I think this is the type of goal you gravitate to when you realize your garden will never be weed free! Maybe you will have better luck than me!

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  11. 'Not perfection but delight' is a great motto. I have a huge job of weeding and tidying ahead of me. March will be a busy month! By the way, really lovely photos in your post.

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    1. I have a huge job of weeding and tidying, too, and I'm not looking forward to it as I should. But once I get out in the garden, I love it. It just doesn't seem like it should be fun!

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  12. Delight is so much more enjoyable than perfection anyway. Although I try to find delight in many things I do, I will need to draw from your post to bring that to weeding. I do like the idea of using it as a time to let my imagination wander...I'll try that.

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    1. I really don't mind weeding, unless it's taken completely over - and I have a few areas where that has happened. I'm a very good daydreamer!

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  13. A new gardening season is always full of hope and excitement! Sometimes if I didn't have weeds, I would have nothing:) I like weeding, but am finding it difficult with my recent knee surgery. Sometimes I just take me a pillow and plop it down next to the area I need to weed and then plop myself down, too. It's so relaxing.

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    1. Hope you get over your knee surgery soon. Funny how we always find a way to get out in the garden!

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  14. I never finish the mulching, either, and my garden has never once been completely weed-free, although I would like it to be. But that has nothing to do with delight, and I find that every day out there.

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    1. I'm glad I'm not the only one that never finishes the mulching, and always has weeds! That makes me feel much better! I've learned to look past them quite well!

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  15. So well-said, Holley! What a wonderful goal to have--delight! I think I will "borrow" that goal, too. The words the photographer shared with you are very encouraging. It's funny, I don't even mind the weeds because as you say, they're a good reason to get out in the garden. Thanks for joining in the memes! This is a lovely post! I'm planning my March book review--it's a good one!

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    1. I think all gardeners know that goal of delight - or else, they're missing out on a lot of what makes gardening so great! Not minding the weeds is a wonderful state of mind!

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  16. A most excellent goal! There is no way in the world to get every weed and I think only non-gardeners don't realize that. I love that you included the story about the garden photographer.

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    1. It was a relief to me when I read that - I was a new gardener at the time. It has really helped me not get too upset at all the weeds that I can't get to. And besides, sometimes they're actually pretty!

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  17. What a wonderful sentiment! I am terrible at weeding - my lawn is probably the scandal of the neighborhood, since I also hate chemicals. And why does the grass only grow well where I don't want it to grow? And I have whole sections of the back yard that are *supposed* to be mulched areas. Oh well, to the birds and butterflies it's probably a lush paradise, right?

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    1. Scandal of the neighborhood - haha! Yes, yes, - I must remind my critics that the wildlife love my overgrown areas!

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  18. I am very nonchalant about weeds. I even kinda like them in the Fall with all the wonderful colors and textures. Planting heavily keeps them down in the garden, but a few slip through and then the get the heave ho, but I really don't go searching for them. I swear they duck back down between the hydrangea when they see me coming though. I guess I follow along with your goal too. It certainly makes life much more enjoyable.

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    1. Ducking weeds - I think you're right! It amazes me how fast they can multiply, but I guess it's something we have to learn to live with - I can't imagine ever being able to get rid of them all!

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  19. Thanks for that post. I will remember that the next time people come to visit my yard and gardens. Much more relaxing and less stressful to think like that.

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    1. Just point out the good things. They will think the weeds are something you planted!

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  20. I love that - not perfection, but delight!! Great motto!

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    1. Yes, it sounds much better than "just give up"! :)

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  21. Nice one Holley! Perfection doesn't really exist on Earth... Thank God! ;)

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    1. You're so right, Alberto. Perfection would soon get very boring!

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  22. Weeds are a good indicator that you have good soil, else they wouldn't grow.

    I always hope that my readers will mostly be like the lady who responded to a pic that had beautiful daffodils and a lot of an obnoxious weed with, "What a lovely groundcover!" From hundreds of miles away you can't really tell which is weeds unless they're taller than the flowers.

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    1. I hadn't thought about weeds being an indicator of good soil. Maybe that will make me appreciate them a little bit more!

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  23. A perfect garden is a wonderful dream anyway. LOL! The weeds in my garden are bad this year too along with those silly oak leaves that keep blowing back and forth. So much work to do. The pictures of your spring blooms are just so pretty. I love the Candytuft in the background. Have you saw the new Amethyst one? I ordered a couple and I hope they are as pretty as their pictures. Have a wonderful week.

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    1. I have not seen the new amethyst candytuft, but I bet it is gorgeous! I love purple!

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  24. Weeds are pain in the flower borders especially when they grow in the centre of a plant and break-up when you pull them out. I have white flowered comfrey growing like a weed if I dont keep it in check in mine, it grows everywhere in-between paving slabs even. So I make fertilizer tea with it. Happy weed free gardening. Please visit me in the orchard one day.

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    1. It seems like you are putting your weeds to good use! Smart!

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  25. Weeds have been awful, flourishing over the winter even. I've pulled weeks this winter now 6 or 7 times. I don't think it's going to be easy to control them this year because of the mild winter. Good luck on yours.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. Yes, this winter did nothing much except encourage them! I have some beds (not many) that never, ever get weeds in them - the plants are too thick there. But this year, even those beds have big, big weeds - it's frustrating.

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  26. Beautifully said, Holley. I think of weeding as a reason to be outside, too, especially during the first truly beautiful days of spring. I'll remember your mantra the next time I'm grumbling at an empty spot--those are really my bugaboos. Your blooms are beautiful, especially your crocuses, which finally seem to have cottoned on to the idea that it's spring out!

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    1. If there's nothing else to be done, there's always weeding! :) Empty spots I keep trying to fill in. I need more groundcovers. My crocuses are finally starting to bloom. It has taken them a while to get the notice! Last year they were ahead of everything, this year they're waiting for everything else to come out first!

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  27. i like to weed, too, holley. being able to think about whatever you want and just hang out with your plants in the sunshine is fine with me. lovely post.

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    1. Yes, I like to just hang out in the garden and plants. And sunshine. A lot to love there.

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  28. "Delight"! Great mantra! Your revelation about there being weeds in every garden is so inspirational. (Dandelions and vine-like 'guck' are a constant challenge in my gardens; I noticed they've already started to green up already.)

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    1. I think sometimes gardeners beat themselves up, thinking all those gardens in the magazine are perfect, and they're not! I hope spring comes to you soon!

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  29. I found this post via Gardens Eye View and had to come over and read it. As I embark on a new garden from scratch it would be so easy to overestimate what I can achieve and get lost in sticking to some original but unrealistic plan. I will take to heart your wise words and rather than obsess on where I fell short, will delight in my accomplishments.

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    1. Enjoy your new garden. I hope your plans work out beautifully. And that you find many, many delights.

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