Yes, I’m an idiot, but only sometimes, I think, no matter that my wife brings up the subject a bit too often. I’m convinced she knows I’m not a complete fool, but she must remind me of the error of my ways to keep some semblance of order. Still, I must stop driving with her to avoid the inevitable conversation as our little car squeezes between a weeping, red leafed Japanese maple and a Koehneana holly that obstruct a good portion of the width of the driveway. This never comes up otherwise, so the simple solution must be to avoid riding together, I’m sure you’ll agree.

A few paces down the driveway, a ‘Seriyu’ Japanese maple and a Jane magnolia touch from opposing sides of the driveway, a double wide section, though this does little except to discourage delivery trucks from using the driveway. She rarely brings this up, and I anxiously anticipated this crossing of branches for several years, so I’m quite happy about it.

I am convinced that after three decades, any garden will have its share of complications, and probably this garden has more than its share since I continually cram plants into less than ideal situations. But, besides making the driveway impassable for anything wider than a motorcycle (and bicycles), I don’t see any problems of consequence.

Certainly, parts along the stone paths must be chopped back on occasion, but this is minor. I once informed my wife that the path from the deck to the driveway would be closed off, but that an alternate path from the far side that looped around several ponds would be kept open. That didn’t go over so well, so a boxwood that was spreading too far became a tall, manicured cone. The path has remained open, though I don’t think she ever uses it, so I don’t understand all the fuss.

I am also told that I am the most impatient person she has ever met, and I can’t believe this is true. Gardeners must be patient, mustn’t they? Admittedly, I will cram an extra plant or two into a space, unwilling to wait for a single plant to spread to fill, but this is a practical matter. The sooner an area is filled, the fewer weeds that grow. I waited, very patiently, for a purple leafed European beech in the front to grow, didn’t I? I swear that the beech didn’t grow a foot for the first eight years before taking off. Twenty-two years later, it dwarfs the house, a just reward for my patience, though I wish the darned epimediums growing beneath it would get with it and fill in more quickly.