Lean into garden problems

Weeds and pests. It seems for some people worrying about these two things is a large part of gardening. Personally, I gave up worrying about the concept of weeds and pests in gardens years ago when I realised they weren’t the problem they were made out to be. Problems? Pff. Throw those thoughts away. Gone! Poof!

Take one of my young food forests above, I know many people would be itching to get those creeping buttercup and grasses out. But if you look closely, like one of those Magic Eye pictures from the 90s, you’ll start to spot the leaves and flowers of other plants that I intentionally planted. They’re growing happily regardless. The problem is in our head.

Sure, I do stomp, yank or cut back the leaves of some around the younger plants until they are established and we do have to keep the roe deer out of some areas of the garden otherwise those large fluffies eat everything. I net some brassicas in summer, though not all, to preserve some leaves for us to eat, but that’s it.

I’m not going to spend hours weeding out everything for it to grow back a few weeks later and I’m certainly not going to wage war on gentle slugs and snails. I simply do not have the time and those weedy interlopers are actually serving an important purpose. One they are a moisture locking groundcover, two they increase biodiversity and three they help improve soil fertility.

In our main garden I’m following the same laissez-faire approach and with each year it works better and better. Perennials establish and spread (naturally or by my helping hand) slowly crowding out the buttercups and dandelions. The buttercups will always be there, benefiting wildlife and the garden only more diluted.

I went cold turkey on worrying about insect and mollusc damage years ago. As soon as I did I saw gardens differently, I focussed on the big picture, not the odd lost leaf or plant. My eyes were also opened to the complex ecosystem in our garden and the joy to be had from knowing each plant supports tens, sometimes hundreds of species of animal. In turns sometimes supporting other animals that eat the smaller ones.

Outside our house is a small patio we don’t really use for sitting on so I co-opted it as an extension of the planting areas, discussed in last week’s newsletter. It’s pretty fun watching this space change each year as the plants seed, kinda like slices of a meadow with some ornamental plants thrown in. We do have another patio with pointing and no plants in the cracks, I like that look juxtaposed against the chaos. It’s good everyone has a choice by casting aside society’s expectations of what a garden should look like.

I know I won’t win some people over with all of this, their world view of gardens is too fixed. But when I hear people spending money and time on remedies for things like a leaf being nibbled or whatever, I want them not to worry about it for their benefit as well as the wildlife.

I’ve learnt that by accepting perceived problems in gardens it reframes everything and we plan accordingly - they are no longer problems. Rather than weeding out buttercups, what will grow alongside them? Rather than worrying about slug nibbles on leaves, what is tolerant or resistant to them?

My number one tip is to focus your time on growing more plants. When you know there is a constant supply of plants to fill gaps or cover buttercups, it makes everything better. Growing plants from seed, cutting or division is always time well spent.

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