August 13, 2008
IT’S A SIMPLE QUESTION: DO YOU LIKE TO MOW? Unless, of course, like me you have a love-hate thing going with mowing. I am always irritated that there’s mowing to be done. But I am also always relieved, since “mowing to be done” means legitimate escape from things like writing, which sometimes has me circling the airport, not landing the plane, if you know what I mean. Mowing: Now there is something with immediate, tangible results. You cut the grass blades, and they look cut. You try to write and, well, sometimes you don’t get any words. So tell me, do you like to mow? Going out to mow now…
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Who's Gardening Here?
from martha to just margaret
I was so blessed to visit and document many of the nation’s finest homemade gardens for 15 years for ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ first as its garden editor and then as editorial director for the company. The list of places we were proud to publish included my own upstate New York home a few years back. Take a tour of how it looked then. Want to know more about me? Or read what Anne Raver said in June in The New York Times, calling A Way to Garden “the best (garden blog) I’d ever seen.” Adrian Higgins of The Washington Post was similarly kind. And so was Martha, on her TV show.
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Why Do You Garden?
One of the most popular questions at A Way to Garden: Why do you garden? A bunch of us answered in a stream of comments, and there's great other stuff on the Forums. Just in case you'd like to tell us why, too (or have a good read about what makes the rest of us tick).
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December Garden Chores
All based on my Zone 5B Berkshire/Hudson Valley location; adjust accordingly.
THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES: Gardeners, like their gardens, benefit from a bit of dormancy, and the time is upon us. Enjoy it. Seed-catalog season gets going in earnest later in the month, so early December is prime time to inventory leftover seeds and store them in a cool, dry place. A friend stashes his in the fridge, first sealing in zipper bags with the air squeezed out, then placing the bags in a sealed plastic box rather than have strays get lost among the yogurt and mayonnaise.
Toss those more than a few years old and make a list of what you’ll need. Not that any act of self-control stops me from ordering yet another gourd or pumpkin variety, or some oddity I simply must have or perish. My list of favoirite sources is in the right-hand sidebar of every page here.
Position your seed-shopping easy chair to point out the window, where there are still riches: berries, bark, new birds. Did you join Project Feederwatch yet?
Mole patrol continues: I am still setting out mousetraps under boxes, buckets or cans in the gardens where I see any activity, to rid them from my beds and borders.
HOUSEPLANTS
KEEP AN EYE OUT for signs of houseplant pests like spider mites, mealybugs, and scale insects. If tackled before they get out of hand, nonchemical methods are usually successful: a simple shower, insecticidal soap spray (as directed on label) or with the most tenacious (like mealybugs) sometimes an alcohol swab and Q-tip. Overwatering is the biggest risk to houseplants in winter…go easy.
START A POT OF PAPERWHITES in potting soil or pebbles and water, and stagger forcing of another batch every couple of weeks for a winterlong display.
WAKE UP WELL-RESTED amaryllis bulbs by watering once, placing in a bright spot, and waiting for them to respond. If no dice in a couple of weeks, water again…but don’t repeatedly water an unresponsive bulb or it may rot. It will tell you when it’s ready for action.
TREES & SHRUBS
CLEAR TURF OR WEEDS from the area right around the trunks of fruit trees and ornamentals to reduce winter damage by rodents. Hardware cloth collars should be in place year-round as well.
BE EXTRA-VIGILANT cleaning up under fruit trees, as fallen fruit and foliage allowed to overwinter invites added troubles next season.
ALWAYS BE on the lookout for dead, damaged, diseased wood in trees and shrubs and prune them out as discovered. This is especially important before winter arrives with its harsher weather, where weaknesses left in place invite tearing and unnecessary extra damage. Remove suckers and water sprouts, too.
VEGETABLE, FRUIT & HERBS
FLOWER GARDEN
PROTECT ROSES FROM WINTER damage by mounding up their crowns with a 6- to 12-inch layer of soil before the ground freezes. After all is frozen, add a layer of leaf mulch to further insulate.
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Brief but Juicy
ultimate garden no-no’s
WHEN SOMEONE ASKED in a comment about my point of view on using landscape fabric, the fuse was quickly lit: NO! I said. NO! I’ve rounded up some no-no’s we’ve posted collectively so far, but I bet by now there are a few more things to bitch about. Grab a lawn chair and a cold drink, and we can fester together. Sure beats weeding (which ought to be a garden no-no).
lose anything lately?
THE SAYING GOES THAT a thing of beauty is a joy forever. I guess “forever” in this case is in the mind’s eye. My darling, oldest bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) went down for the count in July, or at least half of it did, and I had already seen the death knell for a couple of my 10 crabapples. Jeez.
true love, really
LOOK, I HAVE A THING for frogs. Call it my little fetish. An issue. Whatever. My general obsession notwithstanding, I’ve finally met THE ONE FOR ME.
hail the stewartia
I LIKE PLANTS THAT EARN THEIR KEEP. By that I mean they do more than a week or two of showing off; they look good in more than a single moment, or season. The small-ish to medium trees in the genus Stewartia are a good bet if that’s the kind of multi-season interest you are looking for. Sound good?
more, more, more clematis
WHEN I SEE ‘POLISH SPIRIT’ CLAMBERING up and through the golden Chamaecyparis in late spring-into-summer, I realize I have a serious Clematis shortage around here. Not in the Chamaecyparis, specifically, but in lots of other places where things look a little dull. I’ve got a penchant for growing vines up and over otherwise-dull shrubbery, you see.
can-do pruning
REPEAT AFTER ME: I can prune. I can prune. If you follow this simple method for starters, your woody plants will thank you.
the ‘other’ peonies
JUNE WAS PEONY TIME, the big raucous kind of peony time, but just before that another kind of peony you might want to consider adopting did its subtler, wonderful thing.
which lilac to plant?
SO MANY LILACS, so little space. Browse a glossary of some of my favorites before you shop—maybe you’ll like them, too.
non-blooming peonies?
Did your peonies not cooperate—was there not a good crop of flower buds, and you don’t know why? This came up on the Forums, and here’s the dish.
twist-off ticks
I AM COMING IN everyday with at least a tick or two on me; not embedded, thankfully, so far, but it's only a matter of time. But I am prepared. Are you?
anything but forsythia
I guess I have a thing against forsythia…even though I have several specimens of it along the fringes of my property. But there are better choices for spring color among shrubs.
surprise (avian) visitors
If you make a garden for birds, or even plant a crabapple or two (or ten), you never know who’ll show up.
magnolias to love
THEY’RE MEMORIES NOW but I couldn't garden without magnolias. Want to know more about the queen of the spring-blooming trees?
order in the garden
I AM LABELING my plants, I am. As memory fades, out comes the label machine, just in the nick. Saved by the Dymo. You can be, too.
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Buried Treasure
I NOTICE THAT BLOGGING results in some rich but buried treasure: great stuff in a comment thread you may not see; interesting topics on the forums that perhaps you haven't visited.
Subjects ranging from feeding and pruning Hydrangeas and pruning clematis, to entertaining (read: ranting) lists and lists of garden no-no’s (not just mine!).
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I am as proud of my compost heap as I am of any part of my garden. It is the archaeological record of my garden past; it is the stuff from which future gardens will arise. Composting’s also a topic I read a lot about, and lately it's from sources like these: Garden Organic, a 50-year-old British charity; Journey to Forever (don’t worry, not some into-the-bunker survivalist cult); and the vast Cornell Composting web archive. Dig in.
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Global-warming black humor aside, gardeners need to know their frost dates—the first and the last in an “average” year—to be able to plan when to sow or transplant what. The frost-date calculator from Victory Seed Company’s website helps.
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Yes, I love to mow. I like the symmetry of nice long straight rows, I love the smell of cut grass, I love the peace and quiet (I have to mow about 5 acres at a time)and I hate leaving bits of grass sticking up, looking like a bad haircut. I LOVE to mow!!
Actually, I do like to mow. Some weeks it’s the only exercise I get (some weeks nothing, most weeks) and there is a satisfying sense of accomplishment when you turn around and see that uniform sea of green stripes made by the back and forth of the blades and wheels. Like green, lined paper (a subliminal writing analogy, perhaps?). There is also the lovely smell. Just as good as line dried linen. Of course I’m not so enthusiastic about 90 degree 100 percent humidity mowing. The best mow of the season, of course, is the last. Sweet freedom!
Sort of like washing dishes; there are always dishes in the sink nagging me yet when I’m doing them I have no deep creative questions to deal with and it’s a relief. I should try mowing this weekend – my first time – just to test your theory. I’m spending way too much time in that circling plane.
I don’t really enjoy mowing much, but I love the way it looks afterwards and I figure at least I’m getting my exercise in and don’t need to do another walk on that day. When I got married last year and we consolidated households my husband somehow convinced me to get rid of my 1970’s self-propelled Toro push mower. He thought it ‘looked old and was an ancient relic’. but, that baby worked like a charm (well, that is after pulling the cord something like 3-5 minutes…) I sure do miss it though when I’m pushing away on his non-self-propelled mower!
I STILL miss my ca 1980 classic Cub Cadet lawn tractor with the 16 HP cast iron engine that would (did) absolutely plow through EVERYTHING.
A great question! I (thankfully) have a very small front/back yard, so I can get by without any power or gas (just a little muscle). I have an old push reel mower that I use. It’s a green way to trim your lawn, good exercise and leaves you with grass that is the envy of your neighbors. So much so - I unknowingly converted two of them into “reel mowers” this past year. I think the best part is listening to the “whirr-whirr-ing” of the blades as they are cutting. It harkens back to a much simpler time. But to answer the question -yes, I love to mow. :)
I love to mow. I don’t have much opportunity in the dead of summer but I find it very relaxing. Plus it’s one of those activities that makes the entire yard look noticeably better without much effort.
Welcome, Laura “Pistachio” Fitton: I feel as if I have heard that name somewhere before…? I so wanted a classic tractor but the Kubota has 4WD and I am on a hill, to say the least. Hope to see you here again (in either sense of “here”).
Welcome, Mike, a mowing-lover. With a push gas mower (about 4 hours) and the tractor (another 3 hours) I can mow in about a day a week. I keep thinking of a reel mower but I suspect it’s impractical for my situation. Jealous of your nicer sounds!
Welcome, CMCRiverdawn: Yes, whatever happened to our propelled mowers? I think mine dies and when I bought a replacement I had temporary insanity. A common thing around here. Come again soon.
I absolutely love to mow….CRAZY I KNOW….I pop a Claritin, go shirtless (to show off whats left of my pushing 40 body) apply a little spf, grab my ipod and UNPLUG from life, wife and kids singing my heart out with The Eagles. Are you kidding me? I love the smell, the sound of the mower and most of all the lines….those perfect straight lines of mowing perfection - that look just like our country club’s — did I mention how jealous my neighbors get over my yard. Yes, Margaret, I am a freak - I love to garden and mow!
I like to sit on my porch and watch my husband mow, lol. When we had a smaller lawn and a push mower though, I did like to do that. It was sort of meditative, the simple back and forth of it.
When I lived in a house and mowed 4.5 acres with a lawn tractor, I used to love it! Hand mowing? Not so much, though I love the smell and look of any freshly mown grass.
As a kid I grew up in a household with a great dad who really liked a nice weed free lawn. I mowed it for years, but never really caught that sod type of buzz.
Now I live on 2-1/2 acres of what used to be half woods and half lawn. I begrudgingly mow the front yard with a big ole Kubota tractor and belly mower. But truth be told, I am fixin’ to eliminate the front yard grass in favor of gardens and wood chips.
Great site here, made the pickles and they are good. We grow angelica too. Soon to try this red Korean model. Thanks for the tips and leads.
anyhow, all grass mowing needs to accomplish for me is a nice path….
I do NOT like to mow! So I got rid of all my grass. :-)
It is my hope to be rid of all low growing grasses in my yard. Miscanthus, pampas, and fescue are welcome, as is the lovely, demure leathergrass that doubles as a fluffy pillow for my dog’s rump. I am slowly replacing the crunchy summery skeletons of grass with curving beds, meandering paths, arching fruit trees, and a big old hammock. Someday there will be a nice lawnmower parked in my front yard with a big ol’ FREE sign tacked on. Huzzah!
I’m PROUD to confess that “Chad” mows my lawn every other Monday…It’s the best decision I ever made with respect to the garden. I don’t have to worry about it, he does a great job and it allows me the time and energy to focus on the rest of the garden!
I love to mow the lawn, it’s relaxing, but also a work out. I use it for time to think.
I like mowing better than weeding: it’s also the quickest way to get an acreage tidied up.
When I bought my previous house, it came with an acre yard. The owners were moving to Arizona and offered to sell me their John Deere riding mower. I really thought it was overkill, but the guys I worked with all said “you have to get the Deere!” so I did. I remember telling the seller that I would NEVER need the headlight — what kind of crazy person cuts the grass in the dark?
Best decision I ever made! That baby drives great, and now that I have a much rougher former-farmy yard instead of suburban turf it is a pleasure to get it all under control in a reasonable amount of time.
Do I like to mow? I like the time when all I can do is think. I like to watch the seasons progress, to observe the crops that surround me, to experiment with a little longer here, a little rounder there. But it’s noisy, and with the cost of gas I cringe any time I start a motor!
Then I finish, and all I hear are birds calling, and smell the green smell, and walk across the yard without weed arms grabbing my ankles, and then I’m so glad I mowed.
I love to mow. I find it very relaxing and a great way to get rid of stress.
I enjoy mowing - it’s a respite from the everyday - god forbid that anyone approach while the blades are turning! It looks great when it’s done and smells good, but - I have become increasingly concerned about the environmental effects of mowing. I am also trying to appreciate a more ‘natural’ looking landscape, i.e., let it grow and see what comes up. So, slowly, every so slowly, I am letting portions of my lawn (5 acres in total) go to meadow. I am hoping to attract more birds, crickets, etc. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Lastly, this is my first submission to your blog. I love your blog. It’s inspirational and your writing is wonderful.
I love to mow. And gadzooks, this year, with record setting rains, I have mowed more than ever. My favorite part? The rubber earplugs! Sometimes I’m tempted to wear them throughout the day.
It may be as hot as Hades, dry as a bone, but still there is mowing and, still, I am thankful. I absolutely LOVE to mow. Even if we are in the midst of the hottest month of the year, and things aren’t as pretty as they were with the arrival of spring, this chore allows me a freedom of expression: a winding clip, a cross-hatch, or the perfectionist snip, a twice-over with my machine. My heart sings when I mow, I’m outside, sweating, getting filty, but also in tune with nature and all it’s glory. It is an exhausting event, but one that allows freedom from the tedium of other chores that can be so mundane and boring. At least when I’m outside I get to enjoy the many surprises: that butterfly, the anole, that dove or mockingbird that calls this yard, home….I would have missed their movements if I’d not ventured to the yard to ‘play’. :)
Well! I guess this was something worth talking about.
Welcome to Vtgatos (yes, I was thinking today how much I need new earplugs) and Tracy Tress (and I was also feeling bad about using the fuel and making the noise, hmmm…).
Welcome also to Mouse4, a lover of mowing. Good that one of us is totally clear on this topic. And hello, too, to Johanna: Your ‘that baby drives great’ cracked me right up.
Hello there, Country Gardener, with your quicker picker-upper, and a big welcome to David B. (glad the pickles were good…and that someone else here has a Kubota w/a belly mower; mine’s a 52″ deck, you?).
I hope that all of you new faces will come soon again.
@Eddie: Please, this is a PG audience. Keep your shirt on. :)
@Lulu: Way to go! Lawn-free! @Dawndoll: Free in a different way, huh? As in “free mower.”
@Nancy: Yes, the smell!
@BoyRoy: Send Chad here when he’s through there. @ Lacey: Your husband, too–can he just stop by when you are done watching him mow?
@Carol: Yes, the thinking…truly it is the place to sort and think.
@Margie: I love that you call it “play”.
LOVE TO MOW!! I actually get mad if my husband does it. My son is now 13 and I know I should be teaching him some responsiblity and letting him learn how to mow…but I am so selfish!!
Welcome, Jessica. You made me laugh aloud here in my room, which the frogboys hiccuped and belched outside the window. A chorus of me and them. Thanks for the giggle about your “selfishness.” Come again!
If I may quote Karen Carpenter -
‘Mowing days and Mondays always get me down…’
Dear Miss Arrow: You have been fortunate, as Karen Carpenter meant to sing, that, “Rainy days on Mondays mean you didn’t mow.” I did. The supreme mowing queen. Me.
‘on the day that you were born
the angels got together
and decided to create a supreme mowing queen?’
That must be the uncut version - the one I don’t have. Could I borrow it?
I hate it and dh loves it. I want to remove it all and put good old plants in. He likes wide open spaces. I figure he’ll burn out about the same time as the mower. Then I’ll win.
I am surprised how many people love to mow! The one job I do not do is mowing! Unfortunately my husband hates it as well, it doesn’t help that our garden is on quite a steep slope. The day is coming that he will no longer be able to do it. I am gradually digging the grass up so only a little bit will be left and then I am going to learn to love the flowers in the lawn!
Best wishes Sylvia (England)
I hate grass so much that I got out there with a pick axe and hacked it all out. It wasn’t that large an area but the dirt was like cement-probably why the grass looked so bad-and those roots went everywhere. We put in a cute little round bricked in area and gravel. No watering, no fertilizing and no mowing. Perfect.
I agree with Linda. We’ve removed, roughly, 30% of our grass already and when we are done will have about 25% of the original amount left. I’m replacing that with something that requires as little water as possible and even less mowing. I hate mowing and watering the lawn (I live in Southern California, where water is a premium). When the kids are older, the remaining 25% will be gone, as well.
I have been in America for a couple of months now (I am from england) and I have to say you Americans have a serious mowing problem/disorder . Every day and night people mow in our street.
Now look who the cat’s dragged in…Andre Jordan. Welcome, favorite illustrator of mine, who loaned us a doodle for the blog here not so long ago. Yes, we Americans have our power-tool issues to be sure. Have you thought of moving to the woods perhaps?
no. I like it here. plus also I seem to have developed a hot dog addiction.
I hope you liked the original WOODS doodle I emailed you. And I hope you are well.
@Andre: I am about to have a print made as you said, yes. I seem to have lost my manners (while rudely mowing). Sorry not to say something properly. I am glad you are happy, and perhaps we will email the updates?
I never minded mowing on the rider except for the noise. I complained about it and dear hubby tied some ear plugs around the steering wheel ;-) (he’s had many joint replacements so I was mowing for him; now he’s back to it and is in his element.)
I’m heartily in the LOVE TO MOW camp…but I think I am cheating….
…as much as I enjoy mowing, I enjoy having the lawn mowed by my 14 year old son, who took over the job last year. He earns a few dollars, I still go out and garden (and point out spots/tricks to him), and we both get to enjoy the way it looks after. Because, happy world, HE LOVES TO MOW as well!
Judy: Love your husband’s humor (and am seeking the ultimate earplugs over here myself…any advice?).
Welcome, ScentSelf. I think it sounds like the ultimate good deal for you and your son. Hope we see you again here soon.
I love this question! I never mow, it’s my husband’s job, and I never thought about it before, but he clearly loves it because he is always coming up with reasons why he has to spend an hour or two doing it, even when I can’t see that the lawn needs it. Me, I’d let it go till the dandelions took over. I think it gives him the opportunity to zone out, or to avoid hard work. On the other hand, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him pull a weed, and to tell the truth, I enjoy that chore. Lucky we found each other!
@Barbara: Thanks for sharing your sweet story of yin-yang love. :)
I am one of the few fellows on my block that still mows his own grass. (Most folks outsource their mowing to a landscaping service). And yes, I do love it so. Especially in the spring when the grass is carpet like and the finished product is a wonderful carpet of green. ;)
Welcome, Joe. I love that you have remained the master of your swath of green, and “get” why you like those early springtime mowings best of all. Hope we see you here soon again.
I love mowing. I could do it all day, happily. It is easy to do and thrillingly immediately—you can see whether you did a job well done or not right away. It so much easier and more pleasurable than cleaning house, don’t you think?
I love to mow. For me, it inspires zen-like thinking. Now weedeating is quite another matter.~~Dee
Yes, I love to mow. I do most of it myself, with a push mower that I bought for myself even though we have teenaged boys and a riding mower. It’s my exercise and “quiet” time (I know, not too quiet! But, I have six kids, LOL). I put on my iPod and shades, stuff a cold water bottle in my pocket and I am in my own little world. It takes several days to do the entire yard, so I do let the boys help. But I love to do it myself.
Welcome, Kari. So mowing=quieter than 6 kids, wow. What a woman won’t do for some silence, huh? :) I am about to head out when the dew dries and push the smaller mower around again. See you again soon, I hope.
There is something so satisfying about mowing. I have a big Gravely garden tractor and it can cut through just about anything–even waist-high brambles. There is so little effort required for such immediate results. That’s the main thing I like, I guess.
Welcome, Julia. Little effort for immediate results sounds good to me, too. Why isn’t all life that way? :)
Well, I like to mow; there’s something about a neat, well-trimmed lawn. But every other time I mow, I think why don’t I do something more creative with this westward facing front yard of mine? I’ve taken some small steps by yanking out my azaleas that occupied a 18 by 5 foot area right by the house foundation and putting in tropical plants plus tomatoes and peppers, and in an adjacent side area, I’ve put in small shrubs, hosta, and hydrangea, but most of the front yard remains a blank canvas, for what, is the question?
Welcome, Bill. For what? Yes, that’s frequently the question. Sounds like the gardening bug has bitten you hard. Hope to see you here again soon.
Unfortunately I tend to be a little brutal with my tools….I decided to mow along a path in the woods - not trees exactly, just some of the small stuff growing on my path. before too long I completely destroyed the blades, so I had to get the entire mower deck removed. The good news is that I can still drive the mower in the woods, it is an old john deere and is an excellent workhorse, I just can’t mow with it any more.
So now we hire a team of cretins to mow the lawn (look who’s talking). I cringe when they come, make divets in the lawn with their high-speed turns, and weed whack the edges to death. I am trying to convince my husband to let me buy a new mower and promise I’ll keep to the lawn - but so far he is not biting. I do wonder if I would resent the time spent outside and NOT gardening. What do you think?