The Garden: Beauty Versus Usefulness

Several years ago, I had one of those fancy side-by-side refrigerators with a water and ice dispenser located on the outside of the door. It was big, the doors were smudge-proof, and I could fit a ton of stuff inside. As refrigerators go, it was top-tier.

One morning, I walked into the kitchen to find a stream of water silently flowing from the water dispenser and puddling on the floor. After checking to make sure the doors were closed and all of the buttons were in the "off" position, I pulled the refrigerator away from the wall, turned off the corresponding spigot, and unhooked the water supply line. And although I continued to use the refrigerator without any further problems, it gave me no aesthetic pleasure as it had before.

Now, if you subscribe to the notion that beauty is at best a fleeting quality, and usefulness a necessity, you may appreciate the similarities I've found between my broken refrigerator and a garden.

In the beginning, a newly planted garden, like a newly purchased appliance, is attractive and well-ordered. The plants are green, the rows are uniform, and the weeds are barely, if at all, visible. Butterflies visit regularly and nature's critters observe the goings-on from a distance. But, as Spring turns to Summer, the plants get bigger, their foliage gets a little yellow or brown, perfect rows become muddled, and for every weed you pull, two more appear. To make matters worse, a plethora of bugs, some identifiable and some not, join the butterflies, and an assortment of nasty little varmints move in and declare war on anything they can stuff into their furry faces. 

Even so, all is not lost. Although our gardens may no longer look perfect, like my refrigerator, they still  work. Our plants are growing and producing, we're helping the environment, and we're saving money. So cheer up. Gardens don't have to be beautiful to be successful.