Happy Gardeners sculpture from NC Botanical Gardens
I just received my October 2009 edition of Fine Gardening magazine and I wanted to share something from the magazine that made me laugh out loud. It’s not an article but rather the monthly letter written by the editor, Steve Aitken. If you’re like me, you probably don’t often read the editor’s letter, instead you start flipping through the magazine looking for inspiration. But this month, the letter was so funny I had to share some of ‘The Hard Truths of Gardening’as told by Mr. Aitken:
- Plants die. Sometimes it’s your fault; sometimes it isn’t. (I like to subscribe to the 2nd school of thought)
- Lawn grass would rather grow in your garden than in your lawn.
- You should stop pruning while the tree still has few branches. (I think I’ve said those exact words to my husband)
- If the deer don’t eat it then rabbits will.
- You will often buy more plant than you need. (Been there…)
- You will often buy more plants than you can afford. (Done that…)
And my favorite, which didn’t happen to be on the list, is every gardener’s famous last words - ‘I know exactly where I’m going to plant that’. For the full list, check out the October 2009 issue of Fine Gardening magazine.
Happy Gardening!
[...] August 1, 2009 – On the first of each month I confess, if you will, one of the many mistakes I've made in my three decades or so of gardening. I've dubbed this Gardening Oops – GOOPs – Day. I firmly believe that if you don't make mistakes, you're simply not gardening, and I'm happy to see that other gardeners feel the same. Those who read Steve Aitken's 'editor's letter' in the most recent issue of Fine Gardening (October 2009 – by the way, why is the October issue arriving in mailboxes in July?) saw this comment … A gardener – of any skill level – who can't admit to making mistakes is either a fool or a liar … included in Steve's list of hard truths of gardening. Steve, if you read this, here's my virtual – clap, clap, clap – applause. My friend Debbie, at A Garden of Possibilities, also got a kick out of Steve's list (see her post here). [...]