Today is a day for some
obscure thoughts on gardening as well as some common misconceptions. Schepers
Property Maintenance helps get our customers over the hurdles that exist in
making their garden become them, making a garden great. There is a reason we
call ourselves the garden coaches! We
bring our customers into their garden.
The very first misconception
people have is that they start a conversation by saying "I am not a
gardener, I do not have a green thumb". These same people have ironically called me
though. They want changes. They "don't like" this, they "really
like" that and they "are frustrated" with something else. Some
like flowers, others love fauna and coolness. There are those trying to create
a shady spot and others that want a safe place for their children to play.
People need to know that asphalt and concrete is a garden decision. You are
putting a face on your property. Your are managing your outside world.
Realizing that gardening is any decision that deals with this outside world and
any change you make is a gardening decision makes you a gardener.
A garden is not like a room
that needs painting. The start and end points are not that definable. It is more
like a room used for storing memorable pictures and furniture. There is a
process of sorting through the boxes and making decisions. There is the obvious garbage pile, the give
away pile, the sell pile and the keep pile. In the keep stack there are the
items that are easily dealt with, the pictures that need to be placed in albums
and the things you are still not quite sure about. Also, unlike a room, your
garden does not have a door on it that can be shut when guests come to visit. A
garden is your face to the world and by nature it is honest. The tendency is
for people to not allow time and learning to be valid elements of gardening,
just like sorting a room is a process. It is adolescent to see a problem and
think the solution is ever simple and fast. We can help you show your best face
making it possible to leave your door open.
A recent survey, my asking
ten random people in a Tim Horton's line up, concluded that people feel most
comfortable in a well kept, well lived in home. They would choose this hands
down over pretentiousness or mess and dirt. The latter two take away intimacy
where as a house being lived in encourages it. A half finished puzzle on one
end of the dining room table and packages on the other are not offensive but
rather make us curious. One cup of half finished tea next to a plate with
crumbs and a book is far more comforting than a computer screen that has not
quite gone into hibernation. In fact a messy room seen by a guest makes sense
and makes them feel better about their garage. A piece of furniture that is worn and out of
place begs to have the story told. A make shift cupboard to deal with all the
extra baking wear let's us see ingenuity and a person that overcomes; who is
not franchised by the media. In the same way a garden does not have to be
perfect or idyllic, it needs to be you.
A good garden is a garden
where a story is told. The best gardens are the ones that start the story like
this.."Mike from Schepers Property Maintenance helped me build this".
When going for a tour in someones garden there should be stories. One man was a geologist who collected rocks.
He created the most mismatched garden path I have ever seen. How could
something as natural as stone look so out of place. It did not look bad but it
would not be a thing of beauty without his story. Every stone came home with
him from a trip and we spent a solid hour discussing where he had been, how he
got the stone and how difficulty it was to bring it home. This is an excellent
garden. In our yard is a rambling Forthysia that never looks quite right. It is
too big for it's space and therefore needs to be pruned radically. It belonged
to a Mrs Richardson who was a neighbour, a customer and a friend. She was good
at them all. Everytime I see the shrub I think about the fun I had carving a
gigantic "80" in her yard for her eightieth birthday. I did not
forewarn her but took liberties, leaving her lawn a little unkempt for her big
party but giving her the gift of my 80 tattoo. Instead of complaining she had
her coffee in the shade of her rear deck and puzzled it out. She said it took
her almost the whole of the second cup before the tattoo was seen. That shrub
is a good garden plant, it contains stories. Be warned there are no good stories that I
have heard about a concrete and grass yard.
There are many more
misconceptions. Concrete for instance does take maintenance. It is an odd thing
about life but working too hard at making things perfect forces one into a mind
set that will experience every imperfection. Dust, leaves, bird poop, spilled cokes and ash
all are imperfections in hardscape that need maintenance. They are things that just get eaten and
assimilated by a flower bed. Much of the work we do at Schepers Property
Maintenance is looking after debris that in a lawn or a flower bed would be
compost but on asphalt is not acceptable. Dust on concrete is the first natural step to
make a place to grow things, weeds are next. A crack in concrete is a constant reminder of
change and upheaval but it is negative. A plant dying in season, flowering,
reproducing and going through stress is a tamer alarm clock of the seasons.
Show yourself this year and
plan a garden bed. Make it in the front yard where you are forced to see the
quirky neighbours. Make and share a story.
