• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Creatures and Critters
    • Potted & Pruned
    • Homegrown & Handpicked
    • Seeded & Sodded
    • The Christmas Cottontail
  • Speaking
    • Upcoming Speaking Engagements
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Social
    • YouTube
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Hortus sanus: Your gardening helicopter has been cleared for landing

October 8, 2010 By Carol Michel 12 Comments

Exteme close up inspection

The tower has cleared you and your gardening helicopter for landing.

Are you constantly checking to see which plants need more water, less water, more sun, less sun, more shade, less shade? Do you inspect your plants daily to figure out if they should be pruned, deadheaded, staked or shaped? Do you take a magnifying glass with you so you can see deep into the crevices of the bark of the trees? Is the local soil testing lab named in your honor because you have performed every soil test imaginable for your garden?

If you are constantly checking and inspecting your garden, hovering over it looking for signs of trouble, then land that helicopter, turn off the propellers, and turn in your pilot’s license. Stop hovering! Stop worrying about your garden. Stop fussing over the plants.

You are driving yourself and everyone around you nuts.

You need to learn that plants require far less attention than you are giving them.

Leave them alone. Let them grow.

Oh sure, you have to pay extra attention to the little seedlings so they don’t dry up before they even have a chance. Ditto the newly transplanted. And it is a good idea to walk through your garden occasionally to look for signs of trouble like bad bugs, weeds, plant diseases and flopped over plants.

But by and large, just let the garden grow. Fight back the wilderness, show the garden you are in charge, follow the laws of Mother Nature and don’t sink your fortune into the plants.

If you do all that and stop hovering and worrying, you’ll end up with hortus sanus, a healthy garden, and you’ll be healthier, too.

“Tower, we’ve got another helicopter gardener ready to land.”

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: hortus sanus

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    October 8, 2010 at 11:39 am

    Dear Carol, I am so enjoying these hortus sanus posts, keep 'em coming!
    Luv, Frances

    Reply
  2. Layanee says

    October 8, 2010 at 1:06 pm

    The garden can drive one crazy. I usually look for successes rather than problems in the garden. Keeping one's sanity is always difficult when perfection is desired. Food for thought, as always.

    Reply
  3. healingmagichands says

    October 8, 2010 at 1:23 pm

    I learned this lesson when I fell and activated my sciatica. Things went along quite nicely without my hovering.

    On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with going out there and walking around enjoying the sights on a daily basis, which is not the same as hovering. I find the OC part of me stooping down to pull the errant weed when I see them. I really need to stop this and just look and enjoy. I guess there are lots of times when I am hortus insanus. . .

    Reply
  4. LindaCTG says

    October 9, 2010 at 2:07 am

    Oh, this is perfect! You know just how to give the right "spin" (!) on it all. Yep, we find the best garden magic when we don't hover.

    Reply
  5. Diggin' in the Dirt says

    October 9, 2010 at 4:36 am

    Being a gimpy gardener right now (injured arm), I am having to let my garden fend for itself, too. And lo and behold, it still grows, it still blooms, it still attracts butterflies and bees. Humbling to think that the world of gardening can exist without me!

    Reply
  6. David says

    October 9, 2010 at 4:57 am

    I used to do this, but have learned to let it be. Right now the leaves are falling, pecans are falling, debris from trees like the pecan stains the drive. This is no time for perfectionistic thoughts of that immaculate garden seen in magazines. Happily, my compost pile looks good right now, so that's a relief.
    David/ Tropical Texana/ Houston

    Reply
  7. Anonymous says

    October 9, 2010 at 4:58 am

    Good advice and great story. Hortus sanus, we should all be so lucky.

    Reply
  8. Christopher Tidrick says

    October 9, 2010 at 1:33 pm

    That's why I love late summer in the garden so much. Aside from some watering and deadheading, it's time to just sit back and enjoy.

    Reply
  9. HappyMouffetard says

    October 10, 2010 at 7:06 pm

    So true, Carol. It's just as well that I'm usually too busy to fuss over the plants – as you say, they're much better for it.

    Reply
  10. Steve says

    October 11, 2010 at 6:44 pm

    So now I might have a glimpse of what's really going on in the minds of my gardening friends who are always in their gardens and rarely venture back inside their homes.

    I've always been laid back about my own gardens. There's never been much to worry about. I learned young from my Grandfather to create and start with perfect soil and the right plants in the right areas.

    Preparation, planning, and learning from my mistakes seems to be the key for me. Otherwise, I may be out there hovering as well.

    Reply
  11. Janet/Plantaliscious says

    October 12, 2010 at 1:36 pm

    Your post really made me smile! I have to admit that I am more likely to suddenly be ambushed by the realisation that I have left everything to just get on with it for a little too long, but for me my garden has to be fairly self sufficient, and I have no truck with fussy plants. Mind you, I could do with getting to grips with deadheading regularly, just to get more flowers… Oh, and the word verification thingy is "proon", which seems rather appropriate!

    Reply
  12. LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD says

    October 14, 2010 at 1:31 am

    Love this! I know all about helicopter parents but had not taken it to the next level: gardeners, of course…

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,012)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2022 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.