Not that I really have two gardens, although I do have a terrace, and a balcony, and lots of pots, that counts as a garden, doesn’t it? And I am certainly in two countries, and do not have any help in the garden, (except the lawn cutting, and I only do that as I know the bylaw officer would be around if I didn’t).
Sometimes I feel stretched very thin, it would be a lot easier if my large garden was where I was most of the year, and my smaller pot garden put up with me for the other 12 weeks, but it is not to be.
Instead I come home to this,
Yikes, hard to see all my freshly applied gravel
twice a year, and spend 4-6 weeks on my hands and knees weeding. It certainly looks great when I go back to this,
where I lounge around by the pool, tee hee, and then come back to this,
again.
Now, I have even more pots as I have added a lot of herbs.
I am tired just thinking about it.
How about you? Any other two garden gardeners out there? Any gardening in two different countries like me?
I am a floral designer living in a tiny condo in downtown Toronto, Canada's largest city. But on the weekend, I am a gardener/frustrated architect trying to keep up with a 3/4 acre garden in Owen Sound, Ontario, a warm (to Canadians, Zone 5b, and a cold (to Americans, Zone 4b) garden.
Green Theatre 
Heather @ new house, new home, new life said,
August 29, 2012 @ 7:35 AM
You can count your terrace filled with pots as a garden. Take it from one who did that for four years – it takes a lot of attention to maintain a collection of potted plants.
I always wonder how you manage to keep your Canadian garden looking good. It must be a lot of work when you are here – cramming an entire season of weeding, thinning, etc. into short visits. One day you’ll look back on the fruits of your labour and be happy you were so diligent.
kilbournegrove said,
October 16, 2012 @ 8:53 AM
I do cram a lot in when I am home, have to come back to Barbados for a rest, lol. I wish I could spend more time on the garden, it would certainly look better if I did, but at least my plants are maturing.
Marguerite said,
August 29, 2012 @ 9:04 AM
I can barely manage one garden let alone two ( and I do count a balconey container garden as a garden). I was gone on vacation for a couple weeks and came back to weeds up to my waist. Only seeing your big garden twice a year must be an extreme amount of work.
kilbournegrove said,
October 16, 2012 @ 8:54 AM
My weeds were waist high as well, glad no one can see in the back, I am sure the bylaw officers would be after me.
Barbara H. said,
August 29, 2012 @ 10:35 AM
I’m so sorry to say that even being present all the time does not keep the gardens weed free! Summer in the South means I only have a few hours in the morning at most – if I slough off at all it’s a long road back to tidiness. I have multiple beds – does that count? My driveway bed looks like I’ve been AWOL – and I have been as far as that bed goes.
kilbournegrove said,
October 16, 2012 @ 8:55 AM
All my beds look like that Barbara, but I really noticed the difference this year with no mulch. I ran out last year, so the soil is bare and every weed thinks it is an invitation, mulch next year for sure.
paulinemulligan said,
August 29, 2012 @ 1:14 PM
Just one garden is a full time job for me, would never cope with 2! Nature is very quick to claim back what she considers hers, such a shame that you’re not there to convince her otherwise.
kilbournegrove said,
October 16, 2012 @ 8:57 AM
Pauline, your garden is so much larger then mine, and certainly better maintained. you are right, Mother Nature wants her space back and is fighting hard to get it.
David Leeman said,
August 29, 2012 @ 8:43 PM
YESSSS……ME AND THE CARIBBEAN AND COUNTLESS GARDENS IN ONTARIO…..buck up and savour what you have ….lucky duck……
kilbournegrove said,
October 16, 2012 @ 8:57 AM
I know, it is not really a problem is it, lol.
debsgarden said,
August 31, 2012 @ 5:40 PM
You may be a member of an elite garden club! I doubt there are very many gardeners who have such different gardens, but both beautiful, in different countries. About those weeds: I don’t know why, but they seem to LOVE gravel!
kilbournegrove said,
October 16, 2012 @ 8:58 AM
Plants grow better in my gravel then they do in soil, now I know why gravel gardens are so popular.
Jean said,
September 3, 2012 @ 5:20 PM
As you know, I garden in two states (with somewhat similar climates), but not in two countries with such different climates! (That would be a much bigger challenge.) My situation is also easier because my primary (and larger garden) is the one I’m in for most of the garden season and my small supplementary garden, which gets neglected for months at a time, can be cleaned up and reclaimed with a couple of days work.
I agree with what others have said, though. Although it is a lot of work and it must be frustrating to get there and find all those weeds, since you’ll be going back to live in Canada in the foreseeable future (1 more year?), you’ll see the payoff to all the hard work you’ve put into maintaining Kilbourne Grove during this period. (But after all the botanical chaos you find when you get to Canada, it must be nice to get back to those serene container plantings in Barbados :-))
kilbournegrove said,
October 16, 2012 @ 9:01 AM
Jean, I was thinking of you when I was writing this post. You go through exactly the same thing as I do, except for the climates. I look forward to seeing my trees, hedges and shrubs mature while I am gone and I secretly enjoy weeding.
The Year in Review 2012 « Green Theatre said,
January 3, 2013 @ 3:09 AM
[…] Spent most of my first weeks at home, weeding. […]