Garden Etiquette - How To Act When In Another's Garden

Article by: Fred Davis

One thing I've noticed in recent years (and others have also mentioned in passing) is that there seems to be more garden , Constructing a Path visitors who are "out of sorts" and, at times, downright disrespectful and thoughtless. I recently overheard a couple of avid gardeners remark that if they see another tumultuous season , Why a Flower Bed Should Look Bare When You First Plant It like this one, they'll soon be ex-gardeners! One even wished she'd designed a "secret" garden , Local Flower Shops into her landscape, , Spring Gardening Tips set aside only for her and close, trusted friends.

True, times like these do seem to fray fragile nerves and stir up some deep frustrations. Polite society, however, clearly requires garden , Patio Furniture - Coordinating Cushions, Chairs, And Canopies visitors -- out of sorts or not -- to observe a sort of "code" to at least attempt to avoid trampling on another's sensitivities or property , Gardening Using Trees and Shrubs with Scent in Mind rights. Here are a few suggestions to make your visit to someone else's garden , Tulips -- private or public -- more pleasant, informative, and relaxing while, at the same time, avoiding the ire of its gardener or manager.

For parents with youngsters in tow, one of the kindest things you can do is to control your little ones (and some which aren't so little, as well). Filled with energy , How to Grow Ornamental Grasses and exuberance, youngsters can do a great deal of damage as they race around. Advise them to stay on paths; forbid rock-throwing, flower-picking, and branch-tugging; and assist them in keeping their sometimes cheeky remarks to themselves.

Domestic pets of visitors have no place , Mole Myths: How Can I Get Rid of the Moles Destroying My Yard? wandering around in someone else's garden. , Fertilizing to Create More Blossoms on Your Flowers, Flowering Shrubs, and Trees Yes, there may be a resident pooch or cat, but that's never a reason to turn your pet -- even cute little "lap-dogs" -- loose to rip and tear, dig and chew, or otherwise "soil" the garden , Spring Flowers environment with their wastes. Leaving Fido (or even worse, big-footed Boomer) home , Growing and Caring for Rhododendrons and Azaleas is always the safest bet. Your friends will most certainly appreciate the kindness. . .not to mention your deeply appreciated respect for their "turf."

Stepping off obvious paths , Making the Most of the Front of Your Home Using Wind Chimes to go plodding around in the cultivated soil , Industrial Blowers of a friend's garden , Benefit from the Expertise of a Landscaping Contractor is definitely out! You may do that in your own garden, , You Can Grow Your Own Herb - Part 2 but it's not going to be appreciated by most of your friends...and, if you persist, may get you an invitation to leave. (Much of this annoying and now near-universal habit of modern gardeners originated with the advent of television. Turn on any gardening , How to Buy a Porch Swing program and see "experts" in total disregard for the structure of soil , Caring For Bamboo as they tromp straight into a cultivated bed , Adding a Water Feature to Your Yard to achieve a better camera , Rose Planting - Tips and Advice angle.)

Don't pick flowers, , Constructing a Garden Path take seeds, , The Front Porch Swings Through History or snip or pinch cuttings unless you've been invited to. Yes, I've seen it in my garden , Landscaping Tips: Japanese Fundamentals and the gardens , Replacing Tree Blossoms with Hanging Baskets of others. Often, offenders will glance around first to see if they're being observed; then snip! or snatch!, and into a pocket or purse it goes. Seed-snatchers, blossom-pickers, and cutting-crooks are rarely invited back.

Don't appoint yourself , Birdfeeders & Birdhouses - The Perfect Outdoor Accessories as the official visiting weed-puller or bug-stomper. Remember that one person's "trash" may be another's "treasure." Who knows...maybe they wanted that weed , Taking Inside Comfort Outside: A Look at Outdoor Patio Heaters for the Home ("wildflower"?) there, and perhaps that squashed insect was a valuable, beneficial type, nurtured and protected by its host. . .the now-offended resident gardener.

Maintain an up-beat, positive, giving, sharing, and pleasant attitude while visiting another's garden. , The Front Porch Swings Through History Even if you see all sorts of terrible things (mistakes, misadventures, unfinished tasks, weeds, , Coping With Algae in the Garden Pond bugs, diseases, , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (part 13) Oxygen stones, , Making the Most of the Front of Your Home Using Wind Chimes snaggly trees , Industrial Blowers and shrubs, , Fertilizing to Create More Blossoms on Your Flowers, Flowering s, and Trees pet residues, scattered tools , Patio Furniture - Coordinating Cushions, Chairs, And Canopies and hoses, odors, etc.), try hard to put a positive spin on even the worst of circumstances. Avoid insensitive remarks like "Oh, I see you have [some plant , Caring For Bamboo or other]; I have one, too, but mine grows , Fertilizing to Create More Blossoms on Your Flowers, Flowering Shrubs, and Trees taller and has better looking leaves and prettier flowers. , How to Choose the Best Lighting for Your Greenhouse " Another real "killer" goes something like, "Yeah...a hosta...I've got 25 different varieties in my garden! , Replacing Tree Blossoms with Hanging Baskets "

Finally, for you tobacco users, please don't grind out cigarette butts or spit tobacco juice in others' gardens. , You Can Grow Your Own Herb - Part 2 ..and never light , Rose Planting - Tips and Advice up a cigar there, either! Most avid gardeners treasure the sanctity, peacefulness and, hopefully, the freshness and purity of air , Tuscan Garden Design in their garden , Benches - What They Are retreats. Nothing invades that refreshing, rejuvenating, and clean micro-environment like the pervasive smell of tobacco smoke -- especially the disagreeable odor of a smoldering cigar. Few things are less pleasant to police up than someone else's stomped-in cigar or cigarette butt.

And while on the subject, "field-stripping" a cigarette (an old military trick intended to avoid detection by the enemy -- or the drill instructor in boot-camp) is just as bad, if not worse. Not too many people realize that virtually every shred of processed tobacco is a potential source of a deadly agricultural organism known as TSWV (tomato spotted wilt virus). The malady can wreak havoc among many different varieties in a once-healthy garden, , Coping With Algae in the Pond causing stunting of plants , The Front Porch Swings Through History and a discolored mosaic pattern on the leaves, accompanied by unsightly leaf distortion (puckering). Infected plants , Using Hydrogen Peroxide in Your Hydroponics Gardening System must be destroyed -- there is no cure, only prevention. So, if you're a smoker, the next time you visit a friend's (or public) garden, , Growing and Caring for Rhododendrons and Azaleas whip out a stick of chewing gum...leave the smokes in your pocket.

It all boils down to this: treat others, their gardens , How to Grow Ornamental Grasses -- and their gardening , Industrial Blowers efforts -- with the same kind of respect, gentle honesty, and caring with which you'd like to be treated. Where have I heard that before?

Fred Davis is a Master Gardener, Master Composter, , How To Choose The Right Lawnmower For Your Garden Lawn correspondent, lecturer, co-owner/operator of a popular 18-year-old perennial , Patio Furniture - Coordinating Cushions, Chairs, And Canopies nursery in south-central Maine, and author of "Keys To The Garden , Patio Furniture - Coordinating Cushions, Chairs, And Canopies Gate...Saying Some Things That Need To Be Said." He and Linda, his wife of 44 years, reside in Palermo, Maine, and may be contacted by visiting http://www.HillGardens.com

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Garden Etiquette - How To Act When In Another's Garden

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