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Follow Your Own Advice

by KYW's Phran Novelli

'You should prune those.' 'I'd pull out that vine before it takes over.' 'This isn't getting enough sun, that's why it doesn't flower.'

It's so easy to tell other people how to garden, isn't it? You visit friends and point out what they should pinch back or fertilize and how they should plant a whole row of hydrangeas along their fence. But get back home and you may not be quite so confident.

You hesitate when choosing between cultivars. You reach the loppers up to a branch of a tree and wonder, is this the right one to cut? Maybe we should all switch gardens for a day once in awhile to get all the things done we have trouble doing ourselves.

Or you can try to just step back now and then and get a fresh look at your own garden. Taking pictures helps - it gives you some of that same detached perspective you have when you're peering over your neighbors' garden gate confidently telling them what to do. Look through the photos, be brutally honest, and give yourself some orders - then, try to follow your own good advice and see how you make out.

(Photos by Phran Novelli)

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