Container Gardening Guilt

Container Garden Mess
Photo © Kerry Michaels

I spent much of the day Sunday on what seems the never-ending chore of cleaning up and putting away my container gardens. As I was doing this I was plagued by a pervasive sense of guilt. I should have done this or that better, I should have cleaned up sooner and more efficiently and on and on, blah, blah, blah.

So, as I was making myself increasingly miserable, I had an epiphany - I’m not alone in this gardening/guilt thing. In fact the night before, I was visiting a friend, an accomplished woman: a wonderful mother an incredible writer and keeper of a warm and beautiful home. She pointed to two succulents and said with shame that she had killed them.

I thought, WOW, what a waste of guilt. I started to wonder if I could make my container gardening a guilt-free zone. Here is this thing that I do just for the love and beauty of it; for the feeling that I’m a part of this magical and mystical process of growing things. Why couldn’t I just container garden and leave the guilt for other areas of my life, where it’s less avoidable, like child-rearing or exercise?

So here’s an idea. Let us agree together to leave the guilt out of gardening. Are you with me????