The Seven Habits of Successful Gardeners

People often tell me that they can't have success as gardeners because they don't have a "green thumb". I think this makes no sense at all, because gardening is all about learning good habits.

People often tell me that they can't have success as gardeners because they don't have a "green thumb". I think this makes no sense at all, because gardening is all about learning good habits. In 1989 Stephen R. Covey published his New York Times bestseller entitled, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. It’s a very popular book with some good insights - but it really wasn’t my thing for a couple reasons:

1. In general, I’m not a big fan of self-help literature. I may infuriate some readers by admitting this - but I’ve always found it odd that, regardless of how many copies of these types of book get sold, most people (myself included) seem to continue to blunder through life anyway, despite having pondered all the pithy little nuggets of wisdom they have to offer. It’s been over 30 years since Covey’s book was published, over 40 million copies have been sold, and countless seminars have been delivered to paying audiences - yet I don’t think people are any more effective now than they ever were. In fact, given how much time people now spend scrolling away on their smart phones reading celebrity gossip, conspiracy theories, and/or playing pointless games that offer zero opportunity for mental growth - I think we might be the worst we’ve ever been.

2. The book is primarily meant for business-management-types. I tried taking on a management role once. I took management courses, tried really hard - and it was a catastrophic disaster. In fact, to say it was like falling arse-backwards down a flight of stairs would be an understatement (in fact it was more like this). Thankfully, I got fired from that job, which was easily the worst time in my professional life, but also the best thing that ever happened to me (but that’s another story). Suffice it to say, I’m not a business-management-type.

   

   Everybody wants to succeed in realizing their goals - but the path to that success is not always a “one-size-fits-all” proposition. [source]

Still - to give Mr. Covey his due (and to bring this lengthy diatribe back to gardening), I think the first three “Habits of Highly Effective People” translate well to gardening. These are:

1. Be Proactive

2. Begin with the End in Mind

3. Put First Things First

Each of these speak to a mindset that applies to gardening. Being proactive is important because the gardening season it a temporary space in time, and things need to happen when they need to happen - so being proactive will always be better than just dithering in a perpetual state of inaction. Likewise, to begin with the end in mind is kind of what gardening is all about. We prepare soil with the intention to sow seeds, and we sow seeds with the anticipation of a harvest - and every aspect of the operation from beginning to end must be continually borne in mind in order to successfully achieve the end-goal. It’s all about thinking things out and having a plan. Finally, to put first things first is a necessary matter of logistics. Any time I go in the garden there is a limit to what I can get done, and a long list of things to do - so I do the things that are needed most first, and work my way back from there. In fact, I even like Covey’s subcategories for the third habit¹, and tend to take a similar approach to prioritize tasks, and delegate them to my kids whenever possible.

Covey’s next three habits² of highly effective people are all about managing relationships. These really aren’t much help for the backyard gardener - so I’ll offer the following three alternatives: