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Small Garden Dreams

© Barbara M. Martin

Please note: Thank you for visiting my Cottage Garden topic and reading my columns, published here from February 1997 through spring 2003! This Cottage Garden column was written by Barbara M. Martin and is Copyrighted by Barbara M. Martin. It may not be altered or copied or published elsewhere in whole or in part without specific permission from the author. I regret I am no longer actively editing or contributing to this suite101.com topic as of mid-2003. Happy Gardening!

I am dreaming of a small garden, maybe even a town garden. A jewel box. Enclosed, an artificially controlled haven. Protected from the ravages of nature.

Small enough to tidy to satisfying perfection in an hour or so. Small enough to "redo" entirely in a weekend. Small enough to manage in my free time -- tend and nurture with time left over to enjoy it.

A garden can become more of a burden than a joy; more of a job jar thing than a pleasure. In my case, the shoemaker's children have no shoes. I spend so much time worrying about other people's gardens that I have no time left for my own.

There I am, spit polished with clipboard in hand, thinking great gardening thoughts -- but not at my house! Nope, during those busy times like spring when the garden cries for the most attention and timeliness is crucial to the season's success you won't find me playing in the dirt. I'm pushing a pencil (or a keyboard) instead.

It shows. It shows at home in the little garden touches started but not completed, the big projects marked out with flags and paint but not done. The plants are turning lackluster, missing that care and attention that make them stand up a little taller each morning.

A garden should be loved and tended. So when there isn't time to maintain it, let alone improve it and play with it, let alone sit back and enjoy the bounty and the wealth of sensory experience on offer, then it's time to do something drastic.

Mow it or move.

Then and again, maybe a little redesign will do.

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ENJOY!

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