There’s no way around it. Gardening mishaps happen. And if we’re going to be honest, some of them are quite the learning experiences. After all, it’s one thing to grow a patch of really hot peppers instead of those sweet banana peppers you thought you were growing. It’s another thing altogether to accidentally smack a hornet’s nest with your rake.
One nice thing about gardening mishaps is that we all have them. And at some point, we can meet up with our fellow gardeners around the kitchen table and share those stories and all have a good laugh. Hopefully we learn something, too. Because there are some mistakes that really don’t need to be repeated.
One such occurrence happened to Ivy Booth, as she was digging a new garden to grow roses. Knowing she would need to dig deep if the roses were to survive the cold Winter, she pulled out the shovel and went at it. But she got quite the surprise and a funny nickname when something unexpected happened. I think you’ll get a good laugh from her story, The Gas Garden.
Of course, gardening mishaps happen to non-gardeners, too, as writer Heidi Epps reveals in Not a Plant Person. We’ll give her credit for trying, but we never realized how easy it is to kill a succulent!
And don’t miss Harvey Silverman’s story about a very rocky garden. Too, Too Many Rocks explores the seemingly simple topic of what to do when you find your garden plot full of rocks. And then more rocks.
Feel free to stay a while and enjoy all the funny gardening mishaps we have to share below. And be sure to check out our Gardening Mishaps Collection while you’re here, which features a hand-picked selection of our favorite stories from this category.
My garden is my sanctuary. It’s where I go if I want some peace and quiet in my day. Especially now that I have a four-year old daughter, finding a place where I can have a little bit of me-time is doing wonders for my mental, spiritual, and emotional health. Don’t get me wrong, I […]
One interesting ladybug story I encountered was in a science magazine. This was a while back, so I don’t recall all the details, but that was when I first learned that the ladybug is actually poisonous. They secrete a toxin that is harmful to birds, lizards, and other predators. And, of course, they are deadly […]
Let me tell you about my journey growing succulents. I am a nurturer, you see, and so, I don’t have the best luck with any type of succulent because all they want you to do is leave them alone and I’m just not that person. In fact, one time I bought the most gorgeous cactus, […]
As I’m over here watching the leaves fall off my Japanese Maple tree for the Winter, I came across a story called My Maple Mishap by Amelia Grant in our archives. At first I thought it was going to be about tapping maple trees, which is initially why I wanted to read it. But then […]
Do you love any flowers that are weeds? There’s a large plot in our yard that, when we first moved in, I was determined to turn into a whimsical, easy-to-care for cottage garden with stepping stones going through it, and flowers my daughter could cut and assemble for her many outdoor projects. Feeling a bit […]
Inspiration doesn’t always come in the way we might expect. Sometimes inspiration even pushes us in the opposite direction. For example, an inspirational quote might remind us of the beauty in something as simple as a smile. Then there’s the inspirational rock garden. An inspirational rock garden could very well inspire you to never garden […]
Ha, the fun of moving to a new house without knowing what you’re getting into. And no, I’m not talking about knob and tube, or ancient septic systems, I’m talking about your garden! Oh, the gardening mishaps you have to look forward to! I’ve had friends who have found old clay tennis courts under the […]
Have you ever left your garden unattended to go on a quick getaway by yourself, with your friends, or with your family? Maybe you want to be spontaneous and go on a trip on a whim, but in doing so, you forget to tend to your plants. When you come back, you get home to a […]
I think that in our lives, we go through stages where we wonder what our calling is and what our purpose is. I never thought of myself as a professional gardener, but considering I love to garden and spend my days writing about my own gardening and everyone else’s joy of gardening, I think maybe […]
As a lifelong lover of humor and an unrepentant admirer of farce, I take particular delight in stories that masterfully blend structure, timing, and sheer absurdity. Perhaps it’s the engineer in me that appreciates a well-constructed narrative, or maybe it’s the writer in me that marvels when a tale unfolds with near-flawless comedic precision. Whatever […]
