How to maintenance: Some time-saving tactics can make your garden easier to care for

摘要

A few years ago, having arrived at the startling age of 70,1 realized that it might be a good idea to start replacing some of the perennials in the garden with less-demanding shrubs. At a leisurely pace and with the help of Brid Craddock, a talented gardener and designer who comes for half a day a week, I began making minor changes. Then, in the spring of 2005, a drastic and heartbreaking change was thrust upon me: My husband, Martin, died. Although he was never a gardener, we had functioned as a team for 45 years. Martin mowed the lawn in the summer, vacuumed up the leaves in the fall, and made the power equipment purr with goodwill. After retiring, he took on the grocery shopping, errands, and a dozen other household tasks so that I could spend more time gardening and writing. In his absence, everything has suffered. But to allow the garden—the living, ever-changing story of our lives—to go to wrack and ruin would have been unthinkable. So I have spent the past year trying to figure out what Ican do to streamline operations and how to get help doing the things that are beyond me. So far, I am holding my own. Here are the simple but significant adaptations I've made to my gardening habits.