[rowlandwells]

 is there such a thing as a perfect gardener how do your rate yourself on the garden or Lottie what points would you score on say o to 100 as a perfect gardener

is the perfect gardener one who spends endless time tending to his crops a weed free garden considering there plot is an immaculate plot one to knock the spots of any Chelsea show or those who consider themselves to be professional gardeners  

is the perfect gardener one who can put a variety of food on the table or in the freezer for most of the year so saving the pennies on buying veg and at the same time enjoying good wholesome tasting veg

is the perfect gardener one who does his gardening purely for the pleasure of it enjoys hours spent doing his thing having a thermos and a sandwich at hand having a natter with the person on the next plot putting the world to rite treating there garden as a hobby not a chore

so whats your idea of perfect gardener you may have a different outlook  on my perfect gardener topic and looking back over the past year of whats been acheived or are you man enough to admit what youve failed on

is there any such thing as a perfect gardener  do you admire a good gardener or are they just lucky at what they grow

how do i rate myself

[Chrysalis]

Gosh, Rowland, you do ask a lot! 
I want to say all of your theses on what makes a perfect gardener seem plausible and desirable 

The only gardener's I know who fill these requirements are those who are lauded and sanctified after their demise!   Such as the late, great, lamented Geoff Hamilton...

On a scale of 1 -100 I would probably rate around 37!!  Better for effort than results   But it would be worse without the help of these forum-folks!

What do others think?

[sarajane]

I think I can be most of the above but all on different days and times of the year.
I am so proud of myself in the spring when its all dug over, even more proud when most of the plot is springing to life in early summer.
I feel good when I have spent the day weeding and tidying and look back and think 'wow, that looks good today' (although it never stays like that)
I have days when I go out there and spend 4 hours just pottering and nattering and wandering around and think 'that was a nice relaxing few hours' even though I didn't do much it could be a perfect day.

I would never rate myself but think that anyone of us can rate ourselves as 100% perfect for just even trying to grow crops, especially with the weather we have had this year and we just keep plodding away - don't we 

[stompy]

I would rate myself as a 60 for preperation and effort but a 10 for production. 

I get the plot in really good shape over the winter and get growing really well through the spring yet by harvest time plenty of things have usually gone wrong 

I enjoy all of it though so for getting the most from what i do beyond those gates i give myself 100.  :happy:

[mumofstig]

Tending my garden at home is 90% pleasure 10% hard slog, but the allotment is a different thing altogether!

There, I give myself 100% for planning (after all the plans are changed 100 times, at least, during the winter )
About 80% for execution and effort....could do better..missed labels, late planting of transplants, you know how it is 
However the plans are based on yields and the weather from the previous year.............so we all know what happens after that - don't we 

Will I rate myself down on the things that are mostly out of my control...........I don't think so!

So at times it's harder work on the plot and results are unpredictable, but I love growing veg and will carry on for as long as I'm able! 100%  for commitment 

[JayG]

If being a perfect gardener means always getting perfect results with everything then I'm sure there is no such thing, as you can only influence so many of the variables in any given year. Over the last few years just avoiding disaster has been an achievement in itself for some crops! 

"You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, you just might find
You get what you need."

(OK who thinks "I can't get no satisfaction" is more appropriate?!) 

[mumofstig]

well

"You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, you just might find
You get what you need."

I certainly didn't get all the peas that I wanted...............so who thought I needed that many courgettes 

and as for climbing french beans.....there really was no satisfaction at all, this year 

[JayG]

 

Not all disasters were avoided this year; for my cucumbers I think "It's all over now" or "Losing my touch" would be even more appropriate.   

[mumofstig]

 

[Growster...]

Here on Plot Growster - 30% weed free at present, 75% of produce arriving when we want it, 80% satisfaction (personal), but best of all, not paying about a tenner a week to a supermarket for veg, except spuds and garlic and celery.

It all looks a bit of a mess, because there's so much to do on the Patch Growster at present, so nowhere near perfection at all, but to me...marvellous...

It actually pained us to pass the garden centre this morning, and not being able to go in to buy anything!

[Goosegirl]

Gosh, Rowland, you do ask a lot! 
I want to say all of your theses on what makes a perfect gardener seem plausible and desirable 

The only gardener's I know who fill these requirements are those who are lauded and sanctified after their demise!   Such as the late, great, lamented Geoff Hamilton...

On a scale of 1 -100 I would probably rate around 37!!  Better for effort than results   But it would be worse without the help of these forum-folks!

What do others think?

I would go with my hero - Geoff Hamilton. He never aspired to be the perfect gardener as there is no such thing, but one who enjoyed both his successes and his failures and learnt from them and others. I know someone who has what you would call the perect-looking garden, with everything manicured to the hilt, veg all in straight lines, bean frame to die for, dead-heading done every day, but, IMHO, it seems that something has been lost, such as the pure enjoyment of the garden rather than all hard work and no time to listen to the birds sing.

[sunshineband]

Well this gardener is far from perfect, but as I never aspire to be so, am happy the way things are 

[jmc1949]

I'm definitely not a perfect gardener. To me it's all about the enjoyment of cultivating the bit of land I have. I don't always do things by the book, some failures (probably from not doing things by the book!!) but also some successes, but most of all it's the enjoyment I get from gardening and growing my own fruit and veggies.
Jenny

[rowlandwells]

OK folks keep um coming many many interesting replies to my blog i like the mention of my hero Geoff Hamilton to his name and fame in the garden world  will never die for those of us who respected Geoff and his down to earth gardening

the replies are what i expected because non of us are perfect we are just down to earth people doing what we like gardening 

the only down side for me is that i used to love going to harvest festival at our church and giving something to those less fortunate than me and to thank god for providing me with fruit and veg from our garden that year  harvest festival finished at our church several years ago probably the sign of the times but dearly missed

                                                                               RW

[fluffstermum]

For me, a perfect gardener is someone who gets the balance just right. Also doing the best with what you have.
It doesn't have to be the most immaculate, most productive plot.
As said above, once the enjoyment has gone it's pretty pointless.

I think a 'perfect' gardener, if anything like it exists, gets to know their neighbours well, shares veggies and seedlings when too many are grown for their own plot, enjoys their time tending to the plot and leaves when it's no longer enjoyable, keeps the weeds down but not to the point where you spend every spare minute of the day on a weed hunt.

Due to work commitments and having a young toddler, we probably get down to the plot once a week on average. But with that few hours a week we have a bit of banter with the other plot holders, swap our leftover beans for a neighbour's pointy cabbage, we've grown some funky pumpkins, created a lovely flower bed, etc, etc.

We'll never win any prizes, and the plot will never be weed free, but we love it. We grow new things each year, bring home scrumptious food that we've grown from seed and then harvested, we eat KFC on plastic chairs in front of the shed, shelter in the polytunnel when it buckets down with rain, search for wiggly worms with our little one, walk round the allotment admiring what other people are growing, we've even added a bird box and have plans for a bug box too.

You get out what you put in, but enjoying it is the most important thing