I treat the garden like I treat everything else (including thishere blog) – benign neglect.
Works for me. I mean, you should see the rosebush I planted last year. People say roses are super-hard to grow and there is a lot of literature on how to do it, what to spray on them, how to water them, etc. So I planted mine without any real high hopes that it was going to survive my half-assed gardening, much less the driest winter New Jersey has seen in years.
Imagine my surprise when spring rolled around and the rosebush FREAKING EXPLODED with roses. It went insane, it really did. Benign neglect for the win!
Unfortunately, now we have to dig up the azaleas because the rosebush was placed in front of them and it’s not a good look for anyone. Freddie is constantly going on about how it was a mistake to put the roses where they are and I am constantly replying with “I DIDN’T THINK IT WOULD LIVE.”
On the other side of the garden, we have this bush thing that we put in last year. I forget entirely what it’s called, but the leaves are green and white and in the spring the new growth is a pale pink. It’s v. pretty. Again – we planted it, kept up with our half-assed watering (in a drought!) and didn’t really think it would live, MUCH LESS THRIVE. This thing is out of control, basically. I love it.
This weekend will likely see the digging and mulching of the front garden. I want to put in more plants, but I’m not sure the budget will allow that at the moment. I might stick some seeds in and see what happens, though.