Perfection is an Illusion

No such thing as perfection in the garden

By Amy McDowell

Catalogs packed with photos of dreamy plants and immaculate gardens arrive in the mailbox every day, reminding me of the first time I ever ordered plants by mail. The photos, of course, were so beautiful I had trouble choosing what to order—I wanted it all. But when the plants arrived they were nothing like the lush and colorful catalog images I had daydreamed over for hours. I unwrapped clumps of roots packed in stringy peat and wet shredded newspaper and it was two years before the little plants began to resemble the catalog photos.

The flawless images in garden catalogs and magazines are just as misleading as the flawless models in fashion magazines. That kind of perfection is unachievable in the garden—at least if that’s what you expect every day of the season. The garden is ever changing: sometimes immature, sometimes overgrown and sometimes just a little rough around the edges. The moments of sheer garden glory are nestled somewhere in between.

Gardens, by their very nature, are supposed to be a little messy. We all know that the healthiest soils are those with bits of decaying plant matter strewn about. Outdoor fabrics do fade and fray, and the flat-tine pitchfork always ends up with one finger out of alignment. And even if the garden appears like a perfect Eden to visitors, the gardener can always name at least a half dozen flaws they plan to work on.

My garden is comfortable. I’ve spread shredded leaves over the beds again this fall and when I walked by one of the beds on a recent chilly evening, I noticed a leaf had tumbled from the bed onto the grass. I smiled and felt goofy about it. The disarray of decaying fall leaves sent a shiver of pride down my spine. My garden will never be perfect, but I love it for all its flaws. The joy is in the evolution of it and the insight that I glean from growing right along with it.

Amy McDowell is an Iowa Certified Nursery Professional. She has a degree in horticulture and has worked in the field for ten years. She lives and gardens in Polk County.