Sustainable Gardening Blog

What I’m pushing today are double wide borders with paths down the middle or winding through them.  The ones here are just mulch, flat rocks, or the 6" concrete pavers with leaf impressions, but there are lots more good-looking options for more money.

So my testimonial is that these simple, demure paths let me really see all my plants and they let me mother them.  They let me get close enough to hand-water and to stay on top of the weeding.  Close enough to prune away branches that are crowding other plants.  Close enough to keep order, in order words.  And as naturalistic as we get in our design and plant choices, gardening is all about being in control.

For me, tending to plants is so much like tending to my pets.  In taking care of these other species I live with, both flora and fauna, I worry about their drinking enough water and not getting trampled on.  And I could just look at them all day.

Is it the Live Simply Movement or am I just using the old smell-the-roses bit as an excuse to slow down?  I can go either way on this one.