Living in the Midwest, it is essential for a minimalist gardener like myself, to be okay with plants that can survive on their own without a lot of work on my part. A garden that can survive our transitional springtime with frosty nights and scorching heat during the day is imperative to making a minimalist garden work.
Once the summer rain and sun take over, it’s all about just enjoying the view. I love it when the rainbows appear to remind me to enjoy the simplicity of my garden.
My motto for what stays or goes is, “the strong will survive.”
I haven’t quite figured out how to get the survivors to survive the next phase of the season.
Enter in the pests – bugs, bunnies, and baby deer.
The pests seem to win more than I can control. They begin their quest to ruin whatever strong survivors make it.
In my yard, the iris plants just seem to make it no matter what I do with them. The pests don’t even seem to be able to take them down. They seem as strong as a weed. I’ve even thrown out roots that I thought weren’t worthy and find them growing just fine the next year, right where I threw them.
Iris definitely make the cut in my minimalist garden.
Tiger lilies seem to survive the long winter, but as soon as they get big enough and about ready to bloom, something starts to eat their leaves. I even try to protect them by placing rocks around the bottom of the stems.
Unless you’re able to predict when the rose bugs or other strange beetles will arrive, the rose buds are the next victim to succumb to the pests.
Other than the bugs, which as you can see I’ve caught red handed doing their dirty work on the rose buds, I just don’t know if it is the little guy below, (we’ve coined him the runt of the rabbit litter who has adopted by our yard as his forever home), or the deer that wander through, or bugs I can’t see in action. This site indicates all the options.
Too much for me as a minimalist gardener to keep track of.
Good graycious, we’re starting to think that bunny is pretty darn cute. Before I get too attached to him it is time to dash off – I’m choosing to spend minimal time worrying about my minimalist garden.
