Surplus should be a useful resource.

There is nothing wrong with this picture yet. It simply shows African daisy as it begins to encroach into a row of lily of the Nile. Because it is already September, we will delay the pruning of the African daisy to maintain clearance from the lily of the Nile. Then, we can process the pruning debris into cuttings that we can plug into areas where we want more African daisy. These cuttings can grow slowly and disperse their roots through cool and rainy autumn and winter weather to be ready for next spring and summer. It is how a bit of something that is undesirable here can be desirable somewhere else. That is how the lily of the Nile arrived here. It needed to be removed from where it had migrated beyond its preferable confinement, so was relocated to become an asset to another landscape.

So called ‘gardeners’ would do this very differently; partly because, within their stringent schedules, they have no time to process cuttings or divide perennials, but partly because it is less profitable. They would be more likely to shear a neat edge for the African daisy whenever it happens to be convenient for them, and then efficiently dispose of all of the debris. If more African daisy is necessary elsewhere, they would purchase and install it, and charge their client accordingly. The lily of the Nile would probably not be here, since they would have likely disposed of it immediately after digging it from where it needed to be removed from. If any were desirable here, they would purchase it from a nursery and install it, and, of course, charge their client accordingly. Ultimately, their technique might not be much more expensive, but it is nonetheless wasteful, and frustrating to those who are aware of it.

2 thoughts on “Horridculture – Profitable Waste

  1. I know exactly what you mean about the “so-called gardeners,” except for a moment I mistook your meaning for home gardeners. You are referring to the commercial guys–out here, they mostly do mowing but will do pruning and landscape maintenance on occasion. Some fertilize. Some do irrigation.

    Anyway, I work for a non-profit. I knew we had to change companies–& we did–when our landscape guys charged $40 to plant a mum! Now we have enthusiastic volunteers who plant and professionals who mow.

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    1. Sadly, while I was working, I encountered several of such ‘gardeners’ who were capable of being real gardeners, and wanted to do so, but could not while working for a mow, blow and go type business. One would think that mow, blow and go ‘gardening’ would be less expensive, but as you can see, it is not necessarily so.

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