We’ve all been there. You step out into the garden with a clear vision, a pair of gloves, and your trusty hand trowel, ready to make quick work of a few unwanted green intruders.
But sometimes, the garden fights back.
Lately, as I’ve been working on the slow, deeply personal restoration of my mother Janzy’s garden, I’ve come face-to-face with a formidable opponent: 25 years of aggressive, deep-seated weeds and saplings anchored in hard, stubborn Wisconsin clay. And just when we thought we had our hands full, we spent hours yesterday over at Ed and Sue’s, tackling their prize-winning hosta garden that had accumulated 10 full years of unchecked growth!