Entropy is at work in our gardens. In spite of all our best planning and interventions, Mississippi gardens are constantly trying to revert to seemingly random, natural chaotic wilderness.
It’s because they follow natural laws, including the Second Law of Thermodynamics which states that without constant inputs, order always devolves into chaos - especially in Mississippi’s warm, wet climate. Not understanding and staying ahead of it can lead to a lot of unnecessary chores and frustration later.
But while lot of gardeners enjoy toiling away, taking pride in their work, there is a lot of moaning going on over chores that are more habit than necessary. Yet ignoring the lawn, letting shrubs get overgrown, or practicing hit-or-miss weeding, quickly leads to the garden getting overgrown, overtaken, sometimes outright dying. Neighbors will complain, and the city inspector may show up with a citation. Reimagining our approach can slow some of this down.
For example, I don’t have a lawn; instead, I went with flagstone for my back garden and crushed slate, limestone, and mulch in the front, all which can be neatened quickly with a leaf blower or rake. If I had a larger garden, I would have a smaller, well-defined “mow what grows” throw rug, or maybe a larger shag carpet with a few low-growing plants introduced to make it more flower lawn than manicured lawn. And even then, I would probably just pay someone to mow on the high side every couple of weeks - cheaper than a good mower, and I prefer getting regular exercise otherwise.
As for flower beds, weeding is the biggest chore but understand the old adage that “it is better to weed twice than once” I keep at it, a little at a time, rather than occasional marathon pulling sessions. In the cool, moist spring and fall I pull or spray the worst weeds, then cover the soil with a thick layer of mulch. Then I stay on top of it; every time I see a small weed pop up I deal with it immediately, before it goes to seed or gets established again.
Pruning can be tiresome, so I only have three shrubs kept in tight meatball shapes, partly to show neighbors that I at least know what and how to maintain neatness if I wanted to, without it becoming a regular task. The rest are kept natural or tree form, so mostly all I do is thin wayward stems as needed.
As far as watering goes, I get around it by not growing needy plants in the first place. Why regularly soak plants that require artificial life support when we can grow the many dozens of cemetery- or schoolyard tough shrubs, vines, perennials, and annuals that simply don’t need it (email my blog for my free brochure).
This goes especially for potted plants. Because I am gone for weeks and months at a time, for summer color I avoid finicky flowers, only planting super drought resistant lantana, zinnias, periwinkle, ivy, asparagus fern, dwarf okra, gomphrena, and a lot of succulents that store their own water. They usually all make it on their own and losing a few is a small price to pay to not have to coddle my garden.
But now it’s time to shift for the coming seasons. This month I am braving the heat by planting ahead of time cold-hardy pansies, violas, snapdragons, colorful kales, spring bulbs, and other cold-weather flowers that should get plenty of rain in the winter without all summer’s bugs and blights.
Entropy happens. It’s easier to stave off by long-term planning to garden smarter.
Felder Rushing is a Mississippi author, columnist, and host of the “Gestalt Gardener” on MPB Think Radio. Email gardening questions to rushingfelder@yahoo.com.
