A Parade of Plastic Pink Flamingoes
The NY Times had an interesting article in yesterday’s Home & Garden section about Felder Rushing, a horticulturist and gardener from Mississippi who practices ‘Slow Gardening’. According to Mr. Rushing, slow gardening is a simple philosophy to embrace. He urges “gardeners to relax, take their time and follow seasonal rhythms, instead of doing everything at once”. That’s a theory I try to practice myself and certainly encourage others to do so, too. Life is too short to be a slave to your garden.
Much of what Mr. Rushing describes as slow gardening has been touted by advocates of sustainable gardening for years. Mr. Rushing prefers a “reliance on perennials and an acceptance of a little disorder, and expressed a rebellious affection for lawn ornaments that might in some circles be called trashy (pink flamingoes, for example)”. OK, so maybe the plastic flamingoes aren’t sustainable but they are whimsical! I have a confession to make – I actually had two pink flamingoes in my garden one summer. My husband and kids made so much fun of them I finally got rid of them!
The slow gardening article can be found here in it’s entirety. The take-away lessons from this article – slow down and enjoy your garden, don’t worry too much about following the ‘hard and fast rules’ of gardening, and if it makes you smile then it’s the perfect addition to your garden!
So hurry up…and start slow gardening!
I get a kick out of the ways people label gardening. Felder Rushing’s term ’slow gardening’ matches my ‘balanced gardening.’ Rushing is correct in saying that people need to relax and flow with the seasons, as this is the best way to learn about your surroundings. We can still have beautiful gardens when doing so, it just requires using low maintenance, natives in ways that highlights thier best attributes. Even in deer country, we can have beautiful gardens, as long as we take the time to learn what will and will not survive. I don’t agree, however, that we need to fill our yards with tons of ‘garden art’ as I see a majestic tree, or a well placed low bush blueberry, or even a variety of moss as the best garden art ever. However, I do like to use an occasional conversation piece and applaud your use of pink flamingos … they certainly get people talking!
I loved the creative use of decking and stone material to make patios
etc. I’m always looking for a sweet spot to sit and read or just sit.
More directions about how to use these ideas would be great!!