Overcoming Overwhelm: Less is More

Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to gardening. Many of my clients have DIY’d their first garden space and just keep adding to their setup when they feel frustrated with a bed or don’t find success. I find that it’s easy to get overwhelmed when you have a large growing area, but more square footage isn’t always the answer. If you’re overwhelmed by too many beds, seeds or plants, here are some tips to taking action.

Hooch enjoying the abundance of our small-space garden!

1) Review Past Seasons

With spring on the way, now is a great time to review pictures, sketches or journal notes about your garden last year. I admit, I always plan to take good notes, but I do a lot better at reviewing the photo time stamps on my phone than jotting things down once garden season gets underway. Take a look through your camera roll or journal and see when you started what seeds or plants, or to just feel inspired by the layout you had last year.

Think about and write down what you want to do differently in 2021 and what you liked about your garden in 2020. This can include favorite varieties of plants, good placements or plants you had to remove because of crowding. Walking down memory lane will help you recall the joys of your garden last year and help you plan for this season.

2) Prioritize Plants and Space

I know, I know, we want to grow ALL the things. This is only going to get more difficult as the nurseries start filling up with gardening supplies, but it’s time to prioritize the plants you want to grow and the space you have. Take inventory and make a map of your current garden layout, and then make a list of the seeds you have or the plants you really enjoyed growing the year before.

Once you’ve got a list of priorities in terms of spaces and species, add one or two experimental plants for this season and you’ve got your plan.

3) Grow up!

If you have the urge to add onto your garden, ask yourself if you’ve maximized the vertical feet available. Adding trellises between beds or on the back of a bed will allow you to grow vining plants (peas, cucumbers, indeterminate tomatoes) off the soil surface, giving you more room for other plants.

I practice an intensive planting method where there’s barely any bare soil in my beds. I can only do this because I prune, harvest and add compost to my plants on a regular basis. This takes time, but it still takes me less time to tend my small-scale garden than it would to tend even more beds for the same amount of plants.