Resist the urge to remove the weedy detritus, Susan. Resist.
I left a decent layer of plant growth in the garden last fall. The theory is that it provides insulation and nutrients as the plant matter decomposes. AKA, I didn’t weed as thoroughly as I could have and used this ‘insulation and mulch’ thing as an excuse. Which turned out into a win-win. I did less weeding and there are teeny little buds poking up in exposed parts already. See the picture? That’s actually from my garden.
Naturally (pun intended) I want to get out there and weed away the offending mulch. I want to clear the soil so that the buds are exposed to maximum sunlight. I want to hurry the process. I’d have to wear snow boots to do it, though.
It’s too soon. I’d kill the fragile things with uninformed and undisciplined good intentions.
It’s hard to resist my bull in a china shop tendencies. You may find this shocking, but some people think I’m pushy. No, really. I swear!
I confess, I’m like a dog with a bone… I started to say ‘at times’ but that would be a lie. I’m frequently like that. It takes someone with Ron-like fortitude to live with me. I tend to poke at the bear.
Anyway, I’m not going to start weeding. I’m going to give it a chance to live on it’s own terms and in it’s own time.
Significantly,
Susan Scot Fry
Update…
I tend to think that patience and self-discipline are not concepts I’m on friendly terms with. A recurring theme in these posts is making conscious choices, though. That may be the first step. I didn’t weed yesterday, but I also didn’t get out into the rare and precious sunlight either.
I woke up thinking about self-discipline. I also woke up constructing the outfit I’m going to wear today, so hey, I’m not all deep introspection. Now I’m dressed (and looking pretty cute) and am making conscious choices today.
Significantly,
SSF
A Year of Significance 
That’s one of the many parables to be found in the garden! The truth is that we want to interfere with the natural order of thing — just to make it better, of course! But, in a lot of cases, if something is in the right place, the right things happen all on their own. The deadfall has a reason, the lightening strikes occasionally clear it all out and then let the hard, heat-activated seeds open up in their proper time. Intervention is more necessary in the planning stages (what will complement what) and the early days (change is hard), but after that, it’s more a matter of keeping on top of things that can go wrong and amending them.
Not that there isn’t always “yardwork” that needs to be done. But…
what is that phrase that actors like to use about something being “organic?” How it happens naturally and without being forced from the outside?
Yes, many life lessons are found in the garden. Here’s my ruminations on a bit of yardwork I did last year: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=130349907&blogId=486026671
;-p
~ Christie
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Reminds me of another favorite book, Gardening at the Dragon’s Gate by Wendy Johnson.
And, I LOVED your post. Obviously, wild garlic chives are actually those pod people from that old sci-fi movie… That’s it! Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
I can say amen and hallelujah to your wild garlic chive assertions. We have them in our herb garden. And there are more and more every year.
Last year, I did a major pull and got my revenge. Every one of the little suckers I managed to get out with the bulb intact went into a mushroom saute that evening. They were delicious. Oh, I’ll have to pull them again next year, but what a payoff. My hands stank (stinked, stunk…?) for a week.
Tasty.
Thanks, Christie.
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