The Yearly Trials and Triumphs of Gardening

Gardeners quickly learn that everything we plant outdoors is fair game for critters, insects, disease and severe weather, but in spite of all the trials we face on a yearly basis, it’s the sweet triumphs that keep us gardening on!

All around us nature is constantly changing and, with this continual ebb and flow, so are our gardens for no two gardening seasons are ever alike. Pests and disease problems come and go; plants and shrubs may bloom profusely one year only to disappoint us the next. The important thing to remember with gardening is that much of what happens is beyond our control and it’s always easier to work with Mother Nature than spend all our energy trying to fight her.

One personal losing battle is trying to keep critters in check; there’s just too much wildlife here in the heavily wooded area of Northeastern Massachusetts that we call home. However, although I know the usual suspects will turn up on cue every year, the population of these creatures rises and falls and with it the severity of any damage they might do to the garden. It’s all a game of wait and see!

Apparently this has been a very good year for the common vole who’s been busy raiding my flower beds. These small rodents can create big devastation in gardens as they eat plant roots and then pull the remaining plant right down into their vast network of underground tunnels. Rabbits also easily eat their way through the garden patch, especially in spring when newly emerging plants are tender and succulent. Although Thumper hasn’t been a problem at all this year, it seems that every chipmunk in the neighborhood has been dining on our tomatoes!

White-Tailed Deer are a persistent threat and there’s no stopping them when they’re hungry unless you’re fortunate enough to have a tall fence enclosing your property. They can strike at any time, even in winter, but the damage done is always variable – sometimes just light nibbling of plant tips or buds, sometimes devouring of plants to the ground. There’s also no predicting just what they will eat as they browse their way through the yard. I’ve seen deer choose thorny roses and spikey holly leaves over tender hostas and daylilies, two of their favorite snacks!

Hungry insects such as caterpillars, hornworms, aphids and Japanese beetles can ravage crops and flower beds alike, and then there are the blights, molds and mildew which cause unsightly damage to once healthy-looking plants. And, if all of these aren’t enough to contend with, there’s the weather. Too little or too much rain, heat waves, cold snaps, hail and wind can devastate a garden in short order!

Not all of nature is against us, however! Although we can’t control the weather, we’re fortunate that many creatures and even insects naturally work along with us in controlling garden pests. Northern Barred Owls, Cooper’s Hawks and snakes patrol our area looking for rodents, thus keeping the population in check. Beneficial wasps are constant visitors to the flower garden and when they’re not busy pollinating, they help control aphids and hornworms amongst others. A variety of birds, frogs and toads also come to the garden in search of nutritious insect meals. In this way, nature provides a balance for the benefit of all creatures and helps us gardeners in the process!

In spite of my many gardening trials and tribulations, I still come back every spring with the unbridled enthusiasm that this will be my best garden year ever! I’ve learned to take the inevitable losses in stride, work with what nature provides, and focus instead on the many triumphs and joys that gardening brings to my life. There is always something to celebrate, whether it’s an unblemished apple or a perfectly shaped rose!

As autumn closes in and another gardening year comes to an end, I like to reflect on the past season’s pleasures: The first tiny flowers of early spring bulbs, the sweet fragrance of old-fashioned lilacs, the exuberant blooms of June peonies, the summer garden in full splendor and those luscious, sun-ripened tomatoes. All of these joyful passages through the growing season not only make up for any disappointments, they make it all worthwhile!