Intensity

With almost any endeavor you need a certain intensity in order to be successful. Gardening is included in this -- successful gardeners need that drive, that single-mindedness. It's all about the plants, and it's difficult to "get it right" without some level of obsession.

You don't have to go far to see how this intensity works in the garden itself, in nature. Just take a look at the creatures around you!

***

Right now I'll use the examples of the flying inhabitants of my garden, but it could be applied to any of them: squirrels, chipmunks, mice, rabbits, deer. 

They all have a focus that it would be good to imitate as gardeners.

No distractions. Pretty much just focus on food...

...and sometimes the others of your species. A hummingbird's "to do" list looks something like:

1. Find nectar
2. Find insects to eat
3. Keep other birds away from 1 and 2

Imagine if your gardening chore list always had only three items on it!

You'd be able to tackle that list with such intensity, almost guaranteeing success.

Maybe that's the way to do it: Simplify. Intensify. Enjoy.

I think I'll take the hummingbird approach to gardening for a while and see how that goes. I'll skip the part about chasing off others though, as I love having other gardeners visit!

I was going to use squirrels at my bird feeders as an illustration in this post, but then I realized that it's been months since I've seen a squirrel hanging from a feeder! Ever since I switched to Safflower seed in my feeders, it's a rare squirrel that climbs the poles for a taste.

.