A Week in the Life of a Gardener's Spouse -Tips, Ideas & a Poem

Inspired by the anonymous poem “a week in the life of a gardener’s spouse” and with my long suffering husband in mind*, I thought this might be an entertaining way to consider spring gardens and gardening. And the poem is a gentle tease on how being outside in the garden is both a passion and an obsession for many of us.

*One year, I had sown so many seeds for the allotment that our bedroom floor in the window bay was filled with seed trays. After he’d walked on them a couple of times in bare feet, shelves appeared in the bright utility room – seed tray sized.

The verses head each section followed by a gardening tip or design idea inspired by it and a personal thought on my own gardening life. The whole poem together is at the end for you as well.

Monday – digging the garden

“She dug the plot on Monday –
The soil was rich and fine,
She forgot to thaw out dinner-
So we went out to dine…”

Although I have for many years and still do use a no-dig technique in parts of allotment and garden, I do find digging a useful exercise. For example, in a new garden, be that a clients’ or my own, digging allows me to get the feel of the soil. I can discover how deep the top soil layer is and how the texture varies across the garden. Texture is determined by whether a soil is clay, sand, silt or the elusive loam that virtually all gardeners aspire to. And it sounds like our gardener here is lucky enough to have loamy soil.

See below for blog links on the importance of soil, earthworms, and tips for gardening on clay soil and on chalky soil.

Tuesday – roses

“She planted roses Tuesday –
She says they are a must,
They really are quite lovely,
But she forgot to dust…”

My Mother was a great rose lover and one of my earliest memories is of the large rose bed in the rear garden. An arch covered with a pink climbing rose led to a selection of mainly hybrid tea roses and floribunda, including Rosa ‘iceberg’. This was a new rose variety when she planted it in the early sixties, having been introduced in 1958.

Blooms were cut for the house and for years I preferred roses as a cut flower rather than a garden shrub. But perhaps that was the result of being spiked too often when playing among the roses whilst my Mother pruned and mulched!

See below for blog links on scented roses, pruning roses and how to tell a rambler from a climber.

Wednesday – don’t be lazy, daisy

“On Wednesday it was daisies-
They opened up with the sun,
All whites and pinks and yellows-
But the laundry wasn’t done…”

Ooh, now which daisies are these I wonder? Bellis perennis is our common lawn daisy and is a UK native perennial plant. Bellis perennis ‘Pomponette’ is the pompom flowered cultivar sold as bedding plants. Then we have another UK native, the Oxeye daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare, which is similar, but a bit bigger. I love to see a lawn scattered with daisies, and they’re a great boon for pollinating insects and a sunny wildlife garden. (See blog link below for family friendly wildlife garden ideas)

But perhaps the gardener’s spouse would feel that the ‘she loves me, she loves me not’ picking off of the daisy petals would not give him the answer he desires at present.

Of course, the daisies might be flowers for the border – Marguerites, Osteospernum (Cape daisy) or Gerbera. With some 20,000 species of daisies there are plenty to choose from whatever your soil and taste preference.

A Week in the Life of a Gardener’s Spouse

We’re sort of half way through the week and I’m wondering why this lack of housework has occurred. At first I thought they’d just moved in to the house & garden, but then there was already a dinner in the freezer and the inference is that it was homemade not a ready meal.

Perhaps the gardening wife has recently had a birthday. The spade and perhaps a gardening book and vouchers might have been birthday presents. But then it might be that spring is in the air and the call to cultivate could not be ignored. I know my garden is a priority in my life.

Thursday – poppies

“The poppies came on Thursday –
A bright and cheery red,
I guess she really was engrossed-
She never made the bed…”

Yes, I know, April is early for poppies to be flowering, but I have often seen annual poppies flowering in a sheltered garden at the end of the month. Red poppies may refer to Papaver rhoeas, the field poppy or Flanders poppy, an annual usually grown by seed, or to the herbaceous Oriental poppies.

Whilst the Oriental Poppies flower in May and June and then leave us with decorative seed heads, successional sowing of annual poppies can give a floral display from late April to September. Sow seeds in autumn for an early display then keep sowing every couple of weeks from February. You can also allow some of the poppies to self-seed. (blog link below for other annual flowers to grow from seed)

Friday – sweet violets

“It was violets on Friday –
In colours she adores,
It never bothered her at all-
All the crumbs upon the floors…”

Well no, it wouldn’t bother me either, we have a Border Collie and a ginger kitten to hoover up crumbs. When they come in from helping me in the garden that is.

Sweet violets, Viola oderata, are one of my favourite small perennials. Some flower as early as February in time for Valentines; others will be blooming in July. Most prefer to grow in dappled shade, making them an excellent plant for woodland gardens. We have thirteen native Viola species in Britain which makes them perfect for a wildlife garden too. See blog link below for more on these pretty scented and edible flowers.

Saturday – help is found, the gardener is relieved

“I hired a maid on Saturday –
My week is now complete,
My wife can garden all she wants-
The house will still be neat!”

A week in the life of a gardener’s spouse seems to have a happy conclusion for him and for her.

She can get on with sowing seeds, dividing herbaceous perennials, buying new plants to add to the borders. Perhaps she’ll grow flowers for a cutting garden so there will be floral displays for the house. Or develop a herb garden filled with culinary and medicinal herbs – now that is a housewifely thing to do, as it suggests she intends to care for her spouse as well as tend to her garden.

Sunday – a day for gardening and a roast dinner

“It’s nearly lunch time Sunday –
And I cannot find the maid,
Oh no! I don’t believe it!
She’s out there with the spade!!!”

Oh good, now there are two of them, they can really get to grips with the kitchen garden and orchard. A discussion on whether to build raised beds, grow vegetables in rows or try out the Three Sisters growing method is bound to be happening in the potting shed. And they’ll have time to prepare space for an orchard so they can plant bare root fruit trees next winter. Apples, pears, plums, and a few nut trees perhaps. Or maybe grow a nut walk that leads to the orchard? The possibilities are many! What is that man complaining about?

(see blog links below for more on growing methods, orchards and bare root trees)

I’m pretty sure that there are times in lives of most gardeners when they wish that more domestic help was available. Speaking personally, I would certainly appreciate someone to do the shopping, cleaning and so on. More help with the work admin wouldn’t go amiss, either (I have part time help). And now I come to think about it, another regular gardener as well as myself would be very useful, given how overgrown this new garden is.

And finally

A week in the life of a gardener’s spouse will continue to be my husband’s’ crie de coeur’ for years yet, methinks. Still he does appreciate the benefit of a scented corner to sit in and fresh picked salad for his lunch. (And I have seen him collecting leaves into leaf sacks too – shhh)

I hope you’ve enjoyed this somewhat different style of blog. Sometimes I write these ones just for me, but I do know from your comments that the personal element is something you’ve enjoyed.

For further gardening advice and inspiration, check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below and our monthly Tipsheet . You could come and find us on Instagram – @plewsgd Pinterest and Facebook too.

And on that note, you can have a peek at my new garden in the (new) Instagram account @spitfiresandslowworms

If you’d like some personal help, we offer a mix of practical sessions and theory in our bespoke Gardening Lessons and Courses. There’s a blog link below plus a pdf download with more info.