Acceptance

Last week, I expounded on the climate crisis we’re facing. It struck a chord with many readers and the question of how to keep our gardens thriving after all the work we’ve put into them was expressed . The answer of course is complex and still evolving.

While the new normal is yet to be known, what is to be done right now? How do we keep our gardens going as we always have? We don’t. Because continuing to do as we have always done is not working anymore. Simply carrying on as usual and demanding the garden produce the expected results is futile. What we must do first and foremost is accept that change is already happening.

This is a tough ask because change is never easy. And this particular change carries with it great uncertainty. Who knows how long its all going to take to get to that new normal?!

To begin with, stop fighting the battle of expectations. Accept that the roses will bloom (or not) according to the weather pattern. Accept that the heat waves have put paid to some plants. The grass cannot be expected to be green when there is a sad lack of rainfall – are we really going to stubbornly water and feed it and force it to be lush and verdant? Why? At any given point that’s a wasteful effort but right now, it is singularly foolish.

Instead, lets accept that it is what it is. We are waiting and watching to see what unfolds. We’ve got to let go of old expectations and habits – they no longer serve us. If we are to move forward in a positive, hopeful way, then, each one of us must change our own attitudes.

We can do this. Look around – see all the beautifully exuberant pollinator gardens? That did not happen so easily – there was a fair degree of reluctance on the part of many. Giving up neat and tidy gardens full of gorgeous non-native/exotic plants and switch to (mostly) native flora that supports native fauna and loosen up the overall design was not met with immediate enthusiasm. When I set up compost piles and a rain barrel 3 decades ago, I was mocked and called “quaint and old fashioned“. But here we are now – nobody blinks an eye about that these days.

Heck, we even come around to accepting the fact that low-rise jeans flatter absolutely no human body! See?

While we’re n the process of making sense of everything, we can appreciate the many examples of resilience in our gardens. There are plenty of plants thriving. Most are the native ones and/or ecologically beneficial non-natives that have, over the years, naturalized in our gardens. That’s already a positive thing is it not? Despite the data showing a significant reduction in numbers and varieties of birds and beneficial insects, if I can count even one swallowtail butterfly or a Monarch caterpillar, it means there is potential for more. The take home is that I’m doing something right and I need to do more.

Solutions follow only with acceptance.

Yes, I came up with that profound line because that’s what I believe. It’s possible greater minds than mine have said the same thing but I don’t know any of them so I’m taking the credit. So there.

Here are some images of what’s keeping me in good spirits –