For better, or perhaps the worse if you are to take the word of my wife, my attentions are occupied by planting, and thereafter, by leaving the garden to grow as it pleases. Certainly, weeding must be done on occasion, but every other task, fertilizing, mulching, pruning, is done at the bare minimum, or not at all.

Here, there is an amount of laziness, but more a preference for a relaxed, less manicured feel to the garden. How many times have I marveled at branches that wind through a neighbor’s in an unintended creation of color and texture? If plants were chopped into shape there would be none of this. And with this, I must defend the impulse to plant too many things, seemingly too close. Occasionally, this doesn’t work, but sometimes (more often?) it does, at least to my eye. No, I cannot vouch for this in every case, but I don’t criticize it either, when proper plants are selected that will not obviously clash to the detriment of both.

More than a time or two, I’ve thoughtlessly planted, probably inappropriately, and the results have been superb. Admittedly, a few times have not worked so well, but at my worst I’m likely to be thinking, even when I’m not aware that proper planning is taking place (I’m not as stupid as I think I am?)

I have noted here many times that my wife is the primary pruner and keeper of order in this garden. Ivies and hostas that stray onto paths are chopped, and she was recently blamed for butchering a hosta that she claims was done by deer. No matter, her pruning is occasionally clumsy, but someone must do it, and it’s obvious it won’t be me.