It gets to a point when things get so out of control that you decide to just cut your losses and start over again. This is what literally happened to my garden last year. Weeds and grass hardly constituted a garden but when tomatoes are involved one hangs on in hopes of a bounty crop. A basket or two tomatoes were harvested but nothing memorable. Better to mow it all down so that at least it can be seeded back into grass except that I’ve had a change of heart. Family lore has come to mind.
Recalling my grandpa’s garden of perfectly planted and weeded vegetables I know that my gardening efforts in retirement will never measure up. His showcase garden of potatoes, onions, white radishes, beets and cabbage were old school perfection. Simple, practical and memorable, his garden patch lives on in family lore. His brother’s garden rivalled his and perhaps even surpassed it in aesthetic beauty because not only was it just as fruitful,, weed free and carefully designed but it also had the addition of some perky red geraniums. Both of these men were elderly retired farmers and lived in the little village that I now live in . I’m out of excuses so I better rethink the garden. Family lore is at stake.
Shrubs and bulbs seem to be the solution. Big flowery shrubs might fill up some of the gaps. Fall planted bulbs will brighten up the yard before the weeds get too high. I’ll keep the mower handy and use it if I have to. Grandpa and my uncle will still have the glory for family garden perfection but I will at least try again this year. It will give me something to blog about. Family lore lives on.
An Embarrassment of Freedom 
Yay gardens!