By Felder Rushing

Gardening Columnist

New year, new opportunities, for those who seek improvement. Every January I post a “Felder Fesses Up” column of what went awry in my garden over the past months and resolve to do better.

Turns out, other than starting a new little garden with my granddaughter, a lot of what I did in my garden last year was simply maintaining the status quo. Pruning, removing failed plants, recycling fallen leaves and garden debris as compost, planting summer plants in the spring and replacing them in the fall with winter hardy stuff…all the usual stuff. Prune, plant, compost, weed, repeat.

But I am reminded of the mantra with which my most influential college professor started every educational psychology class: “Things that do not change, remain the same.”

This is where philosophy, or maybe psychology, kicks in. Ever hear about not being able to see the forest for the trees? The closer you look at something, the more detail you will see, but it can cause you to lose sight of the big picture.

My gestalten attitude is about approaching my garden as more than the sum of its parts, a deliberate seeking of common ground and peace between never-ending upkeep and equally important feel-good experiences.

Latest example: For years after getting rid of the lawn I mulched and weeded a photo-worthy back garden. Acknowledging its never-ending trouble and effort, I replaced it with flagstone, fixed it once and for all instead of doing something over and over just because that’s the way it has been done. I want to garden for the love of it, not be tied to what looks best in a magazine. Turns out, it looks even better!

Whether dealing with tending a beautiful lawn, keeping shrubs and trees healthy, reducing maintenance, filling a freezer, getting Yard of the Month, winning blue ribbons in flower shows, horticulture is mostly about goal- or production-oriented efficiency.

Nothing wrong about this; many people thrive on financial or mental/emotional/social motivation. I do myself, buying good quality tools, digging holes really well the first time, planting mostly long-lived perennials that flourish in my garden’s soils and climate and are less susceptible to pests or diseases I avoid routine pruning but keep beds weeded regularly lest they become overwhelming.

But many more gardeners, both amateur and novice are more relaxed just puttering around. In it for the overall look and feeling, not worried about doing better each go-round. We learn as we go but don’t fret too much over imperfections or minor setbacks.

By seeing my garden as an ever-changing personal trip instead of a lot of regular chores for maintaining the same old, same old, I am freer to enjoy the whole experience. I can embrace wonder and humor and find ways to accept frustration, as relief valves for the anxiety that comes with going against the flow, doing as I please.

More than a mere physical location, a garden comes to embody a human perspective as the gardener actively chooses from many options to create, experience, and savor a highly personal place that constantly evolves and grows with us.

Instead of trying to “finish” it, or just get through the current season, we can savor the process and overall experience, including how it constantly changes as we ourselves change. That is the gestalt approach.

I will continue to weed, compost, replant. But my needs are what actually drive my garden, not the other way around. The once demanding lawn, replaced with still-troublesome mulch, is now flagstone, and my garden – and new year – are better off for the change.

Better next year.

Felder Rushing is a Mississippi author, columnist, and host of the “Gestalt Gardener” on MPB Think Radio. Email gardening questions to rushingfelder@yahoo.com.