There is so much to do in the spring, and it seems to take forever for it to get warm enough to work out there. Then way too soon, it is too HOT to want to work outside. At the beginning, too, it seems like much of the work is not fun, it's well, work-work. That makes it hard to keep the motivation up. At least that's the excuse I'm using. :)

Yes, I am all in. First it was the harsh winter followed by an extremely wet spring clear through April and most of May. Now it is suddenly so hot you can hardly breath. My 16 perennial and shrub beds are still a disaster. The ground here was completely saturated, even laying in water in some places for days. There has never been anything like it here. All growth is now rampant. The last 2 weeks we have been furiously working in the yard weeding, transplanting, edging, cutting back, etc, etc and the end isn't in sight. But...we are fortunate compared to many parts of the country...tornados, flooding and fires. Yes our woes are so minor.

it seems.. that your only problem.. is that you want it all done yesterday ...

how about his ... TAKE A WEEK OFF ... drag your lawnchair around ... with an adult beverage of your choice ...

and decide where you need to go in the future ...

what bed to make this fall.. so you wont have to do it in spring ...

what plants need to be moved in fall ...

gardening does NOT have to be all about hard work ..

take some time to enjoy and plan ...

and when your butt starts getting motivated again.. go at it a bit slower ...

work smart.. not hard ...

trying to do.. too much.. all at once.. can very easily become overwhelming ... take timeouts.. to enjoy that which has been accomplished.. sooner or later ... you will get itchy to get back out there ..

and if you did nothing more this season ... so be it.. you have already done a great amount ... relish your accomplishments.. rather than fester in your expectations of failure .... the ONLY person you have allegedly let down is you .. i am positive everyone else is mystified with what you have accomplished ...

declare the garden job done.. and find some other excuse to avoid housecleaning ... lol .. how about residing the house while you are at it ... maybe a new roof ... maybe a garden on the roof??? .. so many options to avoid housework ...

good luck

ken

ps: time to join a garden club.. and go visit other local gardens .... for more inspiration ...

Hail, hail Father Ken!!!

I LOVE this ... *declare the garden job done.. and find some other excuse to avoid housecleaning ... lol .. how about residing the house while you are at it ... maybe a new roof ... maybe a garden on the roof??? .. so many options to avoid housework ...*

Some one's been fertilizing my indoor-dust & I've been dreaming that people should only need to eat once a month & have a monthly Eat-Day then the kitchen would be immaculate!

I feel ya. We moved into our house three years ago. We moved from a house we had been in for 15 years, so the gardens there were well-established. I have been busting my hump to play catch-up in this house, and I tell you what, it IS exhausting! :) I'm winding down, though. I think I have the right amount of beds, and have juggled most of them until they are finally looking like I wanted.

It's not helping that it is so stinking hot down here already, in June! We're having August-like weather. I was out at 6:00 this morning, taking a couple of pictures and staking some lilies, because the only time you can stand to be out is very early or before the sun goes down. Hope we get a break soon!

Not pooped, just very pressed for time. The perennials aren't much trouble - beds were planned well, and won't need to fiddle much there outside of with watering when things start to get crispy (mid-July, based on past seasons, is when it starts to get dry - some would say drought - in my area).

The annuals are another story. Posted about it in the annuals forum. Love annuals but just don't have the time to keep up with amount of watering required. Got all stressed out because stuff was all stacked up to plant but I was involved with something else more important (read: work). Finally got it all planted, but going to re-evaluate what I'm doing on this front next year. But dang I do enjoy looking at the shot of color, and really enjoy indoor seed sowing - chases away the winter blues :0)

Sounds terrible but I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels tired/stressed from it all.
As I get older I think I can do all of the things I used to do, but I'm no spring chicken anymore, LOL.
Now it takes double the amount of time to do the same thing, (or so it feels).
Going to try to concentrate of what we've accomplished and re-plan my priorities as far as the yard and garden are concerned.
Thank You all for your input, and I hope today brings you many smiles!

For me it's not having the time, with work, to do it all. Instead of a mixed planting bed, I have a weed bed with a few shrubs and perennials. I'm too busy helping other busy gardeners and pet owners with their to do lists.

My dream. An outdoor communal kitchen, with organic food, that my neighbors and I gather at, and share in the cooking, and dish washing. At least in the summer. Ah the lovely variety of ethnic food I smell in my neighborhood, in front of me on the table. That's a dream.

Yeona

The relentless weeding is what wears me down. The weeds in New Mexico all seem to have stickers or spines and long, long roots and come back over and over. I've made alot of progress this year in projects - building brick edged mulched moats around 10 trees in my yard - 5 done, 5 to go - finished a grass garden, did alot of general cleanup and moving of things in the spring and got rid of alot of stuff that died over the winter. But the weeds - they are never ending. Bindweed, goatheads and another plant with a purple flower that is covered in little spines - I have to wear those rubber coated gloves to weed. But I keep plugging away. I am not adding anything new and just filling in existing beds and have gotten rid of most containers in my yard because they demand so much water. I am going to more evergreens and flowering shrubs in my flower beds, along with more ornamental grasses - trying to simplify. I still enjoy it though, even with all the weeding.

Goatheads, now there is a nasty weed I haven't missed and haven't heard spoken of in years since I moved to Oregon from Arizona. Nothing like stepping on a dried one in bare feet....

I'm worn down by the rain here rather than the actual work. It has been a record breaking wet and cold spring. Not good for gardening but many of the plants have loved it. Weeds aren't too bad but I'm scared of the mosquito infestation that I keep expecting. Floodwater mosquitoes were really bad last year and I expect them this year too. I found those fans useless so dreading all the nasty bites. They love me.