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Kathy Purdy's avatar

I am butting my head against the one-body problem as well. I have a bigger garden than you and I find myself sometimes wishing for a smaller one. When you have less space it forces you to make choices that a larger space allows you to avoid--for a while. Making a "no new garden beds" rule I suppose is progress. Somehow I can't face the "which garden bed should I get rid of" decision. Not yet. But I'm working on upgrading my fitness regimen.

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David E. Perry's avatar

LIke books, our lives are made up of chapters. I used to be more than willing to do all the work necessary for my garden to merit its inclusion in a garden tour, to inspire some and at least not disappoint others.Its an unbelievable and very real amount of work. Gardening on a humbler scale or simply for my own pleasure is much kinder in some ways, but even that approach necessarily morphs and reshapes over time. Other chapters call out to be lived and written, asking to be invested in and explored, other interests that might lead one out of town during some of those most formative and demanding garden times of the year. And so we bow our heads and let some things fall to the side. Some plants suffer, others take unfair advantage. Groupings fall out of balance. Something gives, as it must. We mourn what was and no longer quite 'is.' We make our uneasy peace with not being able to do it all.

Thank you for exploring this phenomenon so thoughtfully and accessibly, Joseph.

Nice to bump into you over here in this neighborhood where so many Facebookers seem loath to wander...

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