Don't maintain your garden

Mechanical problems go hand in hand with a routine of repair and fixing. Boilers, engines, fridges: all require careful looking after to perform as intended without change until their replacement. With software it is much the same; programmers upkeep code just as a mechanic will service a car.

With both realms, mechanical and digital, failures need repairing in a manner consistent with the original design of the product or service: once fixed they should work as they did from the outset. This situation is more apparent in the world of things: observe the reverence with which ancient musical instruments or classic cars are cared for. With digital pursuits it is a more creative/destructive force, but still, the first iPhone is recognisable from the latest iteration and the internet is still on a screen (for now).

And so to the phrase 'garden maintenance'. Some word association first:

Garden: sanctuary, green, nature, wildlife, colour, scent, flowers, peace, quiet, birdsong, food, growing, etc

Maintenance: consistent, repeatable, repetitious, similar, perpetuation, unchanging, preserved, etc

It is the striving for the unchanging which undoes the goal and feeling of the word maintenance. A garden needs looking after, care and attention but not maintenance. When using the 'm' word we conflate gardens with the world of nuts and bolts and reduce them to mechanistic processes. A garden can't break down, fail or be fixed.

I frequently visit gardens which have been 'maintained' and it is clear from the sorry state of the plants and soil that the wrong attitude and, unfortunately more often than not, the lack of skill, have contributed to a lifeless and unimaginative space.

Better to use words like stewardship, management, care, development or regeneration. These imply a relationship which goes beyond basic upkeep towards a more thoughtful and lively approach. And one which is ultimately far more rewarding.