Well, the party line answer is clearly both, and obviously for me too, there is enjoyment of the process and the results. I think that must be true for any gardener who is involved in the making of their own garden space and who isn't getting paid for doing it. But I find that as I get older and farther down the garden path, I would like to enjoy the results more, and I find that the process itself can sometimes be tedious, expensive, require too much patience, and overwhelming. So I am going to be brutally honest here -- while I enjoy the work of gardening to some extent, if I could hire more people to do more things for me and just enjoy the results myself, I would do it. The problem is that, for the most part, if you are a real plant geek like I am (and a whole lot of others who responded above), you can't really hire people to arrange plants for you in the way you want them. So there is a certain amount that you have to be involved with yourself. Being involved again in the creation of a new garden, and having left a mature one, I have to say that so far, I enjoyed the mature one more. The last few years I spent there I did work a lot in the garden still, of course, but the proportion of time spent just enjoying the garden was greater. That doesn't mean that I was sitting when I enjoyed it. It doesn't mean that I didn't pull a weed or two when I walked with a glass of wine in the evening. But after 20 years working on that space, the garden felt "finished" to a great extent. That doesn't mean that there would never be anything new. But the garden had a certain cohesiveness that is certainly lacking in my new garden. It also had as much seasonal interest as I could pack into 2/3 acre in my rotten climate. So, weather permitting, the garden always had moments of great beauty and enjoyment for me. But then again, I know that one of the reasons the garden meant so much to me is that I had spent 20 years making it. I had watched the trees, shrubs, perennials that I had planted get moved from one place to anohter (NAY he says, "I MOVED them from one place to another"...) until they finally found a place that they (and I) liked. Still garden making takes patience, and it is hard in the early stages not to want more results, with less work at garden making. I think that's one reason why, relatively speaking, I did not take many pictures of the new garden this year -- in the last year I was at my old place I took over a thousand, this year less than 100. A reflection that the garden was more about process than results, so far. One of the greatest times of garden enjoyment I ever remember in my old garden was after a big garden tour. The weeds were all pulled, the plants all relatively pristine (it was mid-June), the crowds were gone, my family and the dog were gone, the walks and drives all neat and clean, no cars or other distractions to be seen. Then I walked through and enjoyed my own garden, for a couple of hours, nobody but me and the hummingbirds and butterflies. One of the best times of garden enjoyment I ever had, along with very early foggy mornings and late summer evenings. Give me more of those, and less back-breaking work, any day....

Hardware store, with the rope and chain. Usually available in a choice of bright colors. This is an area where square footin' takes one outside normal gardening needs. I'd forgotten, I've got a few half bricks with a 5-6' length of construction string between them that I'll sometimes use to assist with makring off 1' rows temporarily. The bricks hang off either side of the cinder blocks holding the strings taught. When not in use, they hang on a trellis out of the way. Saw them earlier when working stuff up for the year (hauling in compost), I'm really getting a late start.

Hi Trisha, I understand why you come here when your in pain. I carried a burden all my life and a lot of shame. My Mother had "Huntington's Disease" and my Dad left me to take care of her when I was 11 years old. I was forced to put her in a nursing home when she was 42 years old and I was 25. I took her alone to check out the nursing home and she said "If I'm not nuts, I will be".I moved away and literally abandoned her until my brother called me home, to tell her goodbye. She was bedridden and couldn't speak but she heard my voice and responded. I didn't get any peace until she died at age 54. She came to me in a dream and wrapped her arms around me. She was young and beautiful just like she was when I was small. She loved flowers and laughter and butterflies and me. I'm told my heart is just like her's. When you live with that hanging over your head, anything else is trivial. I don't worry, it doesn't change anything. She's the reason I believe in reincarnation. I recently went through a very hard time, so bad I was banned from my step moms memorial 3 weeks ago! She'd left me her painting books and I was looking at them today. I haven't painted in probably 25 years, but I plan to start! I think you need to forgive yourself first, you were just a kid, too. Reach out to her as only you know how to do, and tell her what you need her to know. I think you'll be surprised how light we are when we let go of a burden. Marcy

You know I voted yes! My wonderful mother is also 92, same as you. Unfortunately she is no longer in a condition to be able to share her stories with us. She has good days and not so good days. When I was there for her 92nd birthday party in August she was great, she knew all of us and said it was the best birthday party ever. It made me feel so happy to see her that way. My mother in law is also 92, in a much better situation than my mother. She is still pretty sharp and does share her stories with us. One of my dear friends in the garden club is also 92, she loves to tell us her stories. She is fascinating. So your stories will help me imagine how her life at that time may have been.