Good gardening consists of far more than setting plants in the soil. One of the best gardeners of the last three score years said, “It is thoroughness, thoroughness, thoroughness that I preach.
The cheapest and best of investments— the gardener’s richest capital.” Reginald Farrer wrote these words, and as he was acknowledged to be one of the most careful and skillful horticulturists and a delightful writer, his opinion should be kept in mind.
Proper Tools For Maintenance
Maintenance begins before even a foot is planted. But, first, proper tools must be chosen and of good quality: a well-tempered steel trowel is indispensable, and the same standard should be upheld in choosing rakes, spades, shovels, hoes, weeders, and mowing machinery.
Second-rate and poor tools are extravagant purchases as they go to pieces, break or wear out under steady work.
Once bought, tools must be kept in good condition. They should be cleaned before they are put away after the day’s work and always sharpened when necessary.
The old saying is still true in every gardener’s day: “A bad reaper never found a good hook,” but a bad gardener may ruin good tools by neglect and carelessness.
Stakes of the correct sizes should be on hand and cleaned when needed, tied in bundles of about the same size, and removed from the soil before they go to winter rest. These preliminaries are necessary if proper care is to be given to plantations, large or small.
Neither does maintenance consist merely in raking roads and trimming grass verges, but it should mean constant vigilance and oversight of the plants growing in the gardener’s orbit.
Lawns should be fed, weeded, and mown carefully, not in wavy, untidy stripes with tufts of grass between the rows. Trees must be sprayed if their enemies have a temporary victory, and they also must be given nourishment.
Shrub Pruning
The pruning of shrubs should be done after careful study, and the season should be correctly chosen when the early and late flowering sorts are best trimmed.
A well-trimmed shrub is as much a gauge of the gardener’s skill and observation as growing the most difficult rock plants.
The form of each shrub should be studied so that the art of pruning is not perceptible to the ordinary garden visitor.
Occasionally, drastic measures are needed, as may happen when an old decrepit shrub needs rejuvenating.
In such a case, it will possibly mean a reduction of the shrub. But, overall, vigorous young sprouts may push forth from the tired old stumps.
Herbaceous and Annual Plants
Herbaceous plants must be watched as some outstay their welcome, spread, and lie down on more desirable and delicate neighbors.
The times for division and replanting of perennials should be noted, and beds should be well prepared for the smaller divisions made from old and woody plants.
Annuals should be started so that they may take their places as reinforcements to the early-flowering perennials.
It is a mistake to have large plants set out in the early season, as they are long past their prime when they are most needed to fill the ranks of flagging perennials in midsummer.
Watering
Watering must be done with kindness and understanding, unlike an amateur cloudburst.
The roots should be well and deeply moistened without drenching the foliage and inducing mildew and other wickedness lying in wait for the unskillful hand.
In the season’s care of the garden, not only dead flowers must be disposed of, but unhealthy leaves should be taken from the plant so that tidiness and order should be subtly apparent to even a hasty visitor.
Staking
Staking must be done neither too early nor too late. Too early staking turns a garden into a forest of bare sticks or long brush far outstripping the plants they are supposed to accompany.
Late staking is even worse because a strong and unexpected wind after a heavy shower may result in flattened colonies of delphinium or bent lily stems, or even uprooting plants lightly held in the garden soil.
Each garden composition must be studied as a whole, and the carefully planned balance of the original planter or designer must be kept in mind.
Sometimes perennials grow far beyond what they are intended to do, and the balance must be restored if the composition is to remain true.
Weeding
Good weeding involves taking the offender out literally by root and branch, ensuring the last, least wicked, and unwanted root is taken out with as little injury to the soil and surroundings as possible.
The easy weeding method is to chop off the heads of the intruders, leaving their thriving roots eager to recommence their invasion.
Chemical weed killers may be useful in many instances, but there may be a risk in using them through consequent injury to a nearby cherished plant.
Every Plant Must Be Studied
Changes in the garden should be made from time to time to keep the original composition from getting out of balance.
One garden was repeated year after year precisely as originally planted, with the result that a mechanical series of groups was slavishly followed, and the garden became a repeated pattern like wallpaper.
It is as useless to try to make plants grow where their likings are not consulted as it would be to plant seaweed in a desert.
Therefore, every plant, tree, or shrub must be studied; the soil it best likes, the favorable exposure to light and shade, and where wind and dryness would lead to disappointment and disaster.
In short, if eternal vigilance is the price of peace, maintenance, and watchfulness are the price of good gardening.
Francis Bacon’s words written long ago are still true “God Almighty first planted a garden, and indeed it is the purest of human pleasures —” But it must be a good garden, not a weedy unkempt one; as gardens are living things and need observation, care, and affection.
44659 by Amy Magdalene Garland