Too old to become a gardener?

If I am too old to become a rock star, then maybe gardening could be an option? Spring has hit Sweden for real now and the "getting-everything-ready-before-the-summer-so-we-can-just-kick-back-and-relax-during-vacation" period is in its peak.

And now you're thinking that this guy actually know something about gardening. I don't. Not at all actually. But I still love it, and can walk around in our garden and look at all the stuff going on, thinking about how I can rescue all those plants and flowers that I can't seem to take care of in the right way.

The big problem for me is that gardening is not just an art of creation, it is also an art of patience and perseverence. The creation part I love, and I have no problem doing the heavy work of digging and preparing and so on, but it is the cultivation that I have a problem with. I also have a problem with all the weeds growing everywhere (no, not that kind of weed, get serious). I can't imagine spending hours on my knees removing them one by one with roots and all. (Luckily, my lovely wife is a master weed-remover. And speaking of weeds, maybe I can train the kids as well as they grow older...)

Unfortunately this lack of patience and perseverance is not only related to gardening. I am an improvizor and a creator by nature. That's probably why I play drums. It is easier to hide your lack of theory and practice and live on talent than if you play some other instrument. Never did have the patience to sit and practice and repeat all those scales and chords over and over and over again. This goes back to when I was a kid actually. I remember playing with LEGO and I would never follow the assembly instructions. I'd rather create cool things on my own. When I want things to happen, I want it to happen now.

But this bad trait is actually improving as I get older, and the proof is hopefully a large climbing rose "Santana" that my mother in law gave me some three years ago, and I just pray that this summer it will really explode into a symphony of large, blood-red flowers. This rose will actually be the determination of my future as a gardener. If it doesn't explode in red this year, than I should just give up. No point in continuing.


Rose "Santana" as it should look.. I might post an image on this blog later this year as my own Santana develops...

Did some serious work on the lawn yesterday actually. Rented one of these motorized scarifiers (vertikalskärare) and went over the lawn a few times. They make a lot of noice at 9am on a Sunday morning. (Wonder how much the neighbors hate me now?) The result of this activity? 15 to 20 of those really big garbage bags full of moss and dead grass. Great, the actual scarifying took only 2 hours, but the cleaning up (my favourite part) is still ongoing. Next step to kick start the lawn; new grass seeds for the most damaged parts and some fertilizing and at least the lawn will look incredible come June...

Going back to the original question now, am I then too old to become a gardener? I don't think so, the odds of me succeeding is probably better than the rock star option, but then again, my patience with things growing is not that great. Oh, and I know absolutely nothing about it either, which might be a problem. Stay tuned for more possible carreer moves in this blog. Right now, becoming a rock-star is the most interesting option although the age thing is a small obstacle to overcome.

Favourite garden? Sofiero in Helsingborg of course. Partly as it is an amazing garden to visit, and partly of course as I have produced (not written) a book about the great history of this Royal Residence.


Sofiero - Royal Residence and Glorious Garden (Liljedahl Publishing) available in English and Swedish.

More about mine and other people's gardens to appear in this blog shortly. Speak to you soon!
Patrik