Why I garden even if my Yarden is not Perfect

Why I Garden — Even When My Yarden Isn't Perfect 

There are days when I look around my garden and think, “Goodness, there is still an awful lot to do!”

There are pots that need sorting, plants that have grown in directions they were never supposed to grow in, weeds that have clearly decided they own the place, and vegetables that haven't quite performed the way I hoped they would.

 The greenhouse might need moving. Something probably needs pruning. Something else probably needs watering.

 And somewhere, there is almost certainly a slug having the time of its life. But you know what? I still love my garden.

 Because I've finally realised that my garden doesn't have to be perfect to be worthwhile.

I don't garden just to grow vegetables.

Of course, I love growing food. There is something rather magical about planting a tiny seed and eventually wandering outside with a basket to collect something I can eat for dinner.

A tomato that started as a seed. A lettuce that was once barely more than a speck. Raspberries that appeared where I planted them months before.

Rhubarb growing away happily in the raised bed. Those little moments never get boring. But if growing vegetables was the only reason I gardened, I think I would have given up years ago.

Because gardening doesn't always cooperate.

• Seeds don't always germinate.

• Plants get eaten.

• Weather ruins our plans.

• Something we carefully nurture decides it would rather die.

• And sometimes you plant something with enormous enthusiasm only to discover that you've provided an all-you-can-eat buffet for every slug in Ireland.

That's gardening. And that's okay.

The Organic Yarden isn't supposed to look like a show garden.

 Our garden is the Organic Yarden — a yard that I'm slowly turning into an organic garden. It isn't acres of land. It isn't a perfectly landscaped vegetable garden with neat rows stretching into the distance. It is never going to appear on Gardeners' World TV show, but I am proud to say has featured on their Social media pages more than once.

 It is pots, containers, raised beds, flowers,  fruits, and herbs. A very small greenhouse and a very large raised bed,  A wildlife pond in a barrel. Plants that I love, plants that I am experimenting with. And, quite possibly, plants I completely forgot I planted.

 And that's exactly what makes it mine.

 I've grown vegetables in all sorts of spaces over the years — from tiny window boxes to larger growing spaces. And one of the things I want people to understand is that you don't need a huge garden to grow something.

• You don't even need a traditional garden.

• You can grow food in containers.

• You can grow herbs on a windowsill.

• You can grow salad leaves in a trough.

• You can grow strawberries in pots.

You can grow something edible in whatever little patch of space you have.

Sometimes I don't grow enough. 

And that's okay too. Some years are better than others. Some crops are fantastic; this year it was Kale  . Others are complete disasters; this year my Augergines refused to produce anything more than pretty flowers !! 

Sometimes I harvest enough to make several meals. Sometimes I grow something that barely produces anything at all, but I've stopped believing that a garden is only successful if it produces an enormous amount of food.

What if we measured success differently?

What if success was:

• I grew something from seed.

• I learned something.

• I gave a bee somewhere to feed.

• I created shelter for wildlife.

• I spent an hour outside instead of worrying about everything else.

• I harvested one tomato and it tasted amazing.

• I made dinner from something I grew myself.

• I felt calmer after being in the garden.

Those things count too.

A garden doesn't have to be tidy to be alive.

I've also learned to appreciate a little wildness. Not every flower needs cutting down the moment it finishes blooming. Not every leaf needs sweeping away. Not every corner needs to be immaculate.

Sometimes those untidy little spaces are where the wildlife is happiest.

• Seed heads provide food.

• Stems provide shelter.

• Flowers provide nectar.

• Leaves become part of the soil.

And a garden that looks a little messy to us can be absolutely perfect for the creatures living in it.

So I'm learning not to apologise for the bits of my garden that aren't perfect.

They're part of the garden too.

Gardening is about more than food.

This is something I really want to share with beginner gardeners. Don't get caught up in thinking you have to grow everything.

• You don't need twenty different vegetables.

• You don't need a huge raised bed.

• You don't need a greenhouse full of seedlings.

• You don't need to become some sort of vegetable-growing machine.

Start with one thing.

• Grow something you actually like eating.

• Grow some herbs.

• Plant a few strawberries.

• Put some salad leaves into a container.

• Grow a sunflower.

• Grow flowers for the bees.

• Create a tiny pond.

Give yourself permission to experiment. And if something doesn't work? Congratulations. You've just learned something.

 That's gardening.