Thursday, January 26, 2012

The spark, it’s still there

Do you ever fear losing the urge to garden? I do.
The spark, the need to get outside and “work” in the garden just hasn’t been there. I’ve been wondering if it is possible to lose that spark, to lose the need and desire to tend to your land, and your plants. Truth be told I’ve even skipped a couple of weeks of taking the yard waste container to the curb for pick-up, a sin in my book. Especially with so much debris around the garden that needs to be cleaned up.
But it turns out all I needed was a little blue sky (something we haven’t seen much of lately) to ignite the spark.
If this keeps up spring fever can’t be far behind.

14 comments:

  1. I lose the spark, temporarily, if the weather is either very cold or very wet. I'm just not as tough as I used to be, and I figure there's a reason the plants are slower-growing or even dormant in winter (I think they are trying to tell us something, Loree.) But as soon as something truly motivating, such as your lovely blue sky comes along, all is back to normal and I can't wait to get out there and start in.

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  2. I hear ya! I lose the spark for about 3 months out of the year....the most productive to get things done around the property!! It is so difficult to get my mojo back. Last week, I almost had it back while trimming the bougainvillea. I think once spring gets into gear, things will change:)

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  3. I gardened when I was a child, but quit during my have-to-be-cool teenage years. But my adult life has revolved around plants & gardening. I've spent months feeling drained about my own and others' gardens, and even tired of the whole "scene," but then I travel, or help a new gardener, or fixate on some garden "problem" I need to solve, or break ground on a new bed, and the thrill returns. Nobody should despair about going through periods of low inspiration. Just focus on something else - that something else will probably inspire your creativity and excitement which will transfer back to gardening. Gardening really is just like everything else in life, isn't it?

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  4. I've lost my gardening mojo a few times.

    A couple of times it was due to mental illness and being in a bad place.

    The other time was a couple of years ago after a harsh winter which wrecked a lot of semi-mature plants in my garden.

    I am pleased to say that it has always come back though. I think that it is something that is impossible to extinguish within gardeners of a certain ilk!

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  5. I do lose the spark quite regularly, when thoughts of the garden just don't enter my head.


    I call that time "night", and I'm usually unconscious. ;-)

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  6. That's why I love winter (yes I do!). Guilt-free down time. But I get what you're saying, and this particular winter, at least once the weather set in, has seemed particularly dreary. Today kinda made up for it.

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  7. I did for three years. I could barely look at a plant. But I'm making up for all that time I lost now. I have always tended to get a bit burnt out by late summer/fall. Spring is generally when I go crazy and then I need to rest and just enjoy it.

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  8. I lose the spark in the summer, when the heat is simply awful and especially last summer with the awful drought. But this time of year my gardening mojo is sky high. I can't stay away from the nurseries, and I've been planting even though I don't really have the time to do so. Isn't it telling how the weather plays so strong a role in our desire to garden?

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  9. I think all of us go through those phases. It's important not to feel guilty but to simply ride out the blahs. Like you, I usually just need a good dose of sunshine to become re-energized.

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  10. I lost the spark last year for a while. I just kept gardening....it's my life, and the magic just came back. It was wonderful; the world came alive again and everything was beautiful. Miracles were everywhere! The recover was almost worth the loss!

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  11. Wow I love all of your comments, it's wonderful to know I'm in such good company.

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  12. Agree with so many of these! I usually burn out right around the beginning of fall..and start to really look forward to everything freezing back. It's nice, because I can just enjoy Autumn for what it is, and don't feel pressure to do much. There is something so cathartic about the annual spring cutting-back of everything...starting fresh, with a clean(ish) canvas! Winter is a great "Get Out of Jail Free" card...I don't have to feel guilty about staying inside and being a little lazy :-)

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  13. The above comments are so true. A friend of mine and I often discuss the cycles of waxing & waining enthusiasm we go through in regards to our gardening. We have decided that weather, especially frequent low pressure systems & the shortened daylight hours of winter are the two biggest culprits to putting a damper on things. Also long stretches of summer heat. But the 'bug' always returns, and then we go through long periods of high energy creativity with a renewed outlook to our properties & plant collections.

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