15 Minutes a Day

A large garden can seem overwhelming at times (22,000 square feet). Every where you look a weed needs to be pulled, a faucet fixed, a wall repaired. Focusing on what needs to be done, however, misses the point. Gardener Tony Kienitz author of The Year I Ate My Yard gave the best advice for gardening: spend 15 minutes a day working in your yard. No more, no less.

I can usually find 15 minutes to work while my children play in the yard. And those few minutes yield a familiarity with the events large and small of the garden. Like visitors.


And helpers.


Before and after exploring the yard.