To be commanded
A gardener in Mykonos, Greece, tending his plants. May 2008
“Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed.” — Francis Bacon
This seeming paradox is one that every gardener knows well. We can exert a strong influence over our gardens, if…
If we observe the individual traits of our plants, our local soil, and our weather. If we are regular and disciplined in tending them. If we practice preventive measures such as weeding and pest control (I prefer organic methods as much as possible).
Even if we do all of these things, however, there are no guarantees. Maybe that is part of the fun of gardening; we never know quite what to expect. But if we hope to achieve good results, we must obey as much as we command – perhaps more.
At this time of year, I’m sure I’m not the only one whose thoughts are turning toward getting outdoors and working on lawns, gardens, flowers, vegetables and other plants. Which commands have you learned to obey, and which to issue?
One year ago today
This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
Defeat Despair 