Lesson 5: Annuals, Perennials and Biennials
Garden Wisdom
Gardening is partly intuitive. The more time you spend with your plants, the more you develop an intuitive sense of how they are doing. Learn the feel and texture of a healthy plant. Cultivate the habit of touching them often. You will soon learn to sense when they are sick or in need of nutrients.
Failure is part and parcel of the garden experience. Every gardener, no matter how skilled, loses plants. This doesn’t mean the gardener failed. If everything has been done correctly and the plant fails to thrive, or dies, it simply means the plant was weak to begin with. This is nature’s way of ensuring only the strong survive.
Recognizing this basic fact should help new gardeners understand that there is no such thing as a black thumb. We all learn to garden using trial and error and build our skills and confidence based on experience.
Most plants don’t require coddling. In fact, like small children, the more you fuss and overprotect them the more demanding they get. Establish a routine for feeding, watering and amending the soil, then just simply learn to observe and enjoy them.
Every gardener has a plant they just can’t seem to grow well. When you find it, leave it, or try a different variety. Try pots, or different locations. I have several. It’s frustrating and sometimes humiliating to find this same plant thriving happily in a neighbors yard. That’s life. Grow the things that you can grow well, and leave the rest for others.
Gardening is a wonderful and relaxing pastime that provides many rewards. Beauty, tranquility and a place to retreat when the world gets too much to deal with.
Here is a wonderful book I highly recommend: Encyclopedia of Annuals and Perennials: The Essential Guide to Creating a Flower Garden, by the Staff of Weldon Owen
