“As I walked around my garden, I slowly began to realize that I had finally achieved my goal of a weed-free garden.

I walked along the path I call Ridgewood Avenue, looking at the garden border called Woodland Follies on my right and Autumn Dreams Gardens on my left. I saw no weeds in either border.  Plus, not only was the path free of weeds, but it seemed time-worn, as though it had been there for decades.

The vegetable garden paths were clean and weed-free, too. Each raised bed in the Vegetable Garden Cathedral contained healthy, vigorously growing vegetable plants. I could reach out my hand in any direction and pick tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, beans.

The Shrubbery garden border was without weeds, too. I began to wonder why I was bothering to carry along with me a trug and a weeder. There were no weeds to pull.  There was nothing to put in the trug.

Ploppers’ Field, with its mix of perennials and odd sorts of mis-matched plants, suddenly seemed well-organized, and though I tried my best to find a weed poking out from between the plants, I found none.

From border to border, I walked through the garden, and was delighted to find that for once, there was no need to weed. I had really done it. I had finally done it.  I had achieved a goal that every gardener has.

I had conquered the weeds and the garden belonged to me. The garden belonged to the plants I chose to have in it. It belonged to the birds and the bees and the butterflies.  There were no weeds.

I could not wait to share my secret for how to have a weed-free garden with others. I knew it would make so many other gardeners happy.”

Carol?

Yes, Dr. Hortfreud.

That’s quite a dream you had.  Tell me what you think it means.

Dr. Hortfreud, aren’t you supposed to tell me what my dreams mean?

Carol, it doesn’t really matter what your dream means, as long as you believe in your dream. If you think it can come true, then it can come true. But you must realize that dreams require work.  Keep pulling those weeds and someday, maybe this dream can come true for you.

Thank you, Dr. Hortfreud.  Your advice is a as useful as Loudon’s Rule of Horticulture, No. 7.

You are welcome. Before our next session, I suggest you put into practice Loudon’s rule no. 7 and then we can discuss if it is helping you achieve your dream of a weed-free garden.  But leave out the insect part.

“Never pass a weed or an insect without pulling it up or taking it off unless time forbid.”