My unscheduled garden staycation

Weekend before last, the RHS posted a reel with a text overlay that said, “Don’t let anyone talk you out of a quick 10 minutes in the garden. Because those 30 minutes will be the best hour of your day.” To which a commenter suggested: “That hour will be the best afternoon of the week.” I think we all know the feeling. And love the feeling! And in spring, when the weather is conducive and there’s a window of time to get things tended to, there’s a legitimate argument for tuning out other concerns, if/when you can, and gardening while the sun shines. (Before it starts to shine too brightly, I mean.) It’s a fraught time to be a self-employed person and garden addict, especially if you’ve got a big project on your hands.

That Saturday morning, after having been distracted by the courtyard work for much of the week — during which I had help for a few hours on consecutive days, and literally did have to be out there — I took time away from the garden to go see someone else’s garden with a friend. While we were out, I made a whole speech about how I had to spend the afternoon at my desk getting caught up because blah blah blah. So what did I do when I got home? Got back in the car and went to Hudson Valley Seed Co for veg seedlings (no strawberries, sadly) and Catskill Native Nursery for a couple of other things. I had to: Time was of the essence!

It was a beautiful day to have driven the valley from Claverack to Kerhonksen, and my husband accompanied me on the afternoon leg. When we got home, I set down the perfect new evergreen we’d found, just as the light was going soft. The whole garden seemed suddenly lush and green, and real, like it had instantly crossed some threshold, even though it was still very much a work in progress, and I spent some happy time tending to things, planting the leafy greens, making a little mixed-herb pot for the neighbors. At the end of that day, I was feeling absolutely giddy. Not a word I use often. But genuinely giddy.

The next morning (after a quick trip to another nursery that didn’t have strawberries, followed by the discovery that my beloved old hatchback wouldn’t start), I forced myself to my desk and felt overwhelmed by the chaos. The mess piled up, the incomplete projects and unread emails judging me. Even the few receipts and plant tags on my garden table waiting to be logged and filed in my journal, where my record-keeping was falling quickly out of date. All of which was compounded by the knowledge that my helper would be back the next two days and there was still so much to be done.

As a sense of panic set in, I thought, Karen, when was the last time you took a vacation? (Answer: 2022.) And no hard deadlines at the moment. Maybe just lean into it.

So this past week wound up being week two of my unscheduled two-week garden staycation-ish. Monday and Tuesday mornings, A got the rest of the edging sunk in the courtyard, and he tamped and spread and tamped the pea gravel. (It’s done!) Wednesday and Friday I had business to tend to. But Thursday I went nursery hopping with another friend (got strawberries!), then picked up my plug trays. And finally I spent all day Saturday and Sunday planting to my heart’s content. I got about 80 wee seedlings in the ground in two days, including mulching another big chunk out of the lawn. And although I still have plugs to be planted just as soon as I sort out how I want to approach the sump garden out front, the back feels like it’s been safely set on its course and I can make some brain cells available for other things again.

My garden staycation is over now, and I feel good about it. Never done so much manual labor on a vacation before, or had so much to show for one. But also plants and dirt are a lot cheaper than travel! So in the end: 10/10, highly recommend.