No Take Backs

In a garden almost nothing is forever. Trees can be moved even when they are towering fifty-foot specimens. Shrubs can be split and repotted, moved and trimmed back. Bushes which are intended to live at gigantic twelve-x-twelve feet can be kept trimmed yearly to a smaller size. Some even benefit from it. Trees which are supposed to be three dimensional objects can be trained to be two-dimensional stick figures to bear more fruit per limb.

Amazing what some people can get trees to do.

In short, in a garden, like in life, almost everything can be undone and fixed. But not everything.

Sometimes we make mistakes that can not be rectified, that stay in our garden and shape it forever. In a garden, stand out examples are invasive species. In our own garden, many years ago we wanted to have a wildflower meadow. To that end we planted a creeping, flowering clover that completely failed to take. The grass was too thick and too strong. Years later we took out the grass and with sudden and extreme strength the legacy clover exploded to life. In the pathway and every adjacent bed.

Ah, clover... my old enemy.

No matter how much we weed, and pull out the roots, it remains. It is forever part of our garden now. (And probably my neighbors too.)

When you are making a decision in the garden of your life, be careful that those decisions are reversible, or if they are not, that you are willing to live with the results forever. Ask people you trust to help make those decision who have only the best interest of your garden at heart, and if it went south would be willing to tend the forever weeds with you.

Then, take action.