Let The Garden Be: What If "Messy" Is The Point?
As we shift into spring, I am reflecting on how nature isn't tidy-- and it doesn't need to be! The pressure to keep an "orderly" garden is deeply cultural and rooted in long-standing ideals of control and appearance. If you think about it, a well-kept landscape might signal discipline, pride, status and belonging, to name a few. The urge to control the garden is tied to inherited ideas -- ones that didn't always honor natural systems.
From suburban lawn culture to a perfectly curated magazine garden, we've absorbed the message that anything unruly or "messy" is neglect. This actually extends to so many different parts of our lives, not just the garden! When we look at how nature behaves, we can begin to understand that these expectations have been internalized and have even curated our behavior in the garden! When we take a step back, we can begin to see that this actually goes against the natural state of things! So what can we do?
What if we just let ourselves be a little more uncomfortable and let nature be? It is an important perspective shift for how we might manage our gardens. We have some control over things, to an extent, but nature knows what it is doing (better than we do).
So let me ask you this, . . . how could that perspective shift change your own behavior?
There Is Beauty Inside What We Often See As Messy, . . .
Often times, when I go into a client's garden, I find that there is a consistent urge to cut everything down and prepare for the new growth ahead! Believe me! I completely understand this--I OFTEN feel the pressure to clean things up, especially as a designer and garden coach who feels the need to have a showcase garden all the time (which, if you have been to my garden, is far from the truth).
My garden is a working garden. One that exudes the rhythms of nature. Leaves cover my garden beds. Dead stems hang out all winter long. Last years old hops hang over the fence like skeletons. There are remnants of last year's growth everywhere! Nature doesn't just disappear, we humans make it disappear, causing well thought out system of life to suffer.
Messy stems are shelter for our native bees and other beneficial insects. That layer of leaves that is covering your soil is protecting and insulating the life beneath it. Even dried seed heads are a part of the garden's story, offering food, structure and habitat in a season when things are still scarce for birds and bugs! Nothing is wasted in nature. Nature doesn't "clean up" like we do, it recycles, repurposes and rests.
The Cost Of Rushing, . . .
When we cut everything back too early, we interrupt those cycles-- in early spring, new growth is just beginning to unfurl! A warm day doesn't mean it's time to go full speed ahead, a "thawing" needs to happen. Cutting things too early might harm a plant because weather shifts are still a threat. Bugs are waiting for more consistent temperatures--a time ahead, when we too can be in short sleeves, spending time with our hands in the soil without freezing our fingers off.
When we rush in, we remove the very life we want more of in our gardens. Pollinators, predators, the quiet workers that keep everything in balance.
A Different Way of Thinking, . . .
We've been taught to see a "good" garden as something controlled and complete, but a living garden is neither of those things. A living garden is never finished. It ebbs, it pauses, it holds onto what it still needs. Things die, birds bring in new seeds, it is constantly changing! Connect with that aspect of your garden! Instead of asking "What should I clean up?" ask yourself, "What is still being used?"
Maybe doing less is actually a form of care for your garden! Be present with your garden. Watching it will actually give you more information than reading a blogpost about what to do and what not to do.
So, . . . when the garden turns greener, bees start buzzing, trees are budding, and oh dear, the weeds start coming! THAT is your signal! Not the calendar. Not the pressure to make things look good. Take your time! Ask yourself to look a little deeper into what is actually happening in your garden while it has been asleep all winter long. Let things linger a little longer than your comfort level! And most importantly, let's let nature lead!