If your garden is messy, do you still sit in it and enjoy it?

[Wheeder]

We did a massive job 6 weeks ago. Looks like shit again. Cba to be honest. Lawn mower is dodgy, not going to spend an hour trying to get it on.

Do you sit in messy gardens?

No, can't do it. I feel very happy after doing the garden, good tools are essential though.

Depends, our grass is cut and patio is Jet washed but we've just sorted out the sheds and so there's a small pile of rubbish neatly by the gate waiting to go to the tip.

We have been sitting out still.

Long grass and overrun with weeds, probably not.

The grass being cut makes a huge difference. It makes it easier to potter and weed. I love pottering, it is the definition of mindfulness for me. So soothing.

Our garden is quite large for a normal end-terrace house, and there is never time to stay on top of all of it. We have bits that are looking good and bits that need work, and bits that are a mess. We grow a lot of veg and herbs, and have lots of pots and baskets which are colourful and lovely, so I try to focus on the bits I can control and improve the other bits when I can. If I needed everything to be perfect before I could sit outside and enjoy it, I would never go out there!

Yes.

Yes of course! Just done no mow May and not cutting it till mid week so it’s like a nature reserve at the moment with wildflowers and long grass. Lovely sat on the picnic blanket with my book (and mumsnet!).

No same as l can't relax in the house it is messy

I try and sit in the garden but I immediately see a weed that needs pulling or a plant that needs staking and I have to get up and do it. That said, my garden is my pride and joy and I’m surprised Alan Titchmarsh hasn’t offered me a job yet 🤷‍♀️.

If it is just overgrown nature then I can relax. If there is rubbish or an untidy patio etc I can't.

No.

In fact, I had all my blinds pulled down on windows that overlook the garden, from autumn 22 until April this year, when I decided a gardener was my answer.

Our garden was awful till we got it done. Not just messy but broken patio tiles, uneven lawn. Even when you tried to tidy it , it looked horrible. I hated sitting out there and rarely did. Now we have a new patio and lawn I'm always outside

The increase in small birds and butterflies when I dont mow for the summer is massively worth it

Our garden is currently a real mess - overgrown and chaotic. But I am sitting out here on the patio listening to the birds sing and watching the dog potter about. DH has been on nights all this week so he can’t mow the lawn and neither can I as he’s asleep. He’s booked a van for a day next week to clear out the garage and the garden and he’s off all week so hopefully by Friday evening it will all be nice and tidy again 🤣

My garden is wild and I like it that way. Lots.og wild flowers, long grass, borders bursting. Better for the birds, bees, butterflies and other wildlife than a perfectly manicured lawn, or worse a plastic one. I love sitting out in it, why shouldn't I?

Mine isn't immaculate and i sit out, the overall look is very pretty, I cut the grass twice a week and have got a few baskets and pots planted up, the borders are planted with established bushes so we get a lot of birds and insects.
The scruffy bits are a few weeds under the bushes, I haven't edged the lawn and the patio needs washing.

I don't mind a few weeds though, currently there are bright yellow poppies growing in a few gaps between the slabs and against the wall, there's a clump of buttercups flowering and something purple that the bees love.

I wouldn't sit out if the grass was long though and it was over run with weeds.

Hundreds of cheap lawnmowers on marketplace op.

I don't have much time for gardening bit I do keep my garden tidy because it's far more relaxing to sit in if it's had a mow and sweep.

Usually I sweep the decking and give it a scrub in the spring. And then put a few flowers in pots on it. Mow the lawn Every couple of weeks before green bin day. Trim the hedge in winter and late summer.

We have no rubbish (did a dump run when we did the massive job 8 weeks ago - realised it was further back). New paving so neat for not being overgrown.

Grass is long but pretty (dh hates it). And flower beds are being reclaimed by nature weeds

I didn't mow for all of May and it looked really pretty actually.

All the no mow May people - leave it until September! Or mow a space for a table, or just mow a path. The insects and birds will thank you

Yes, no problem for me. Although dh's comfort level for the garden's messiness is much lower so I'm almost insulated from ever having to care. This seems like poor compensation for the inverse relationship when it comes to the state of the kitchen but I'll take it.

No. I used to before we paid to have the garden landscaped and planted lots of plants. After that, since we had paid for it, I spent about 5 years after that, taking care of the garden in a way I never had before between March and October which meant I could never relax as I kept seeing weeds that needed pulling, flowers that needed deadheading, plants that needed cutting, cuttings that needed transplanting, watering that needed doing etc. So sitting in the garden to enjoy it rarely happened . It did look very nice though and we had lots of lovely comments about it from visitors etc

Then about 2 years ago I just stopped doing it l, I got depressed and fed up and stopped going in the garden completely except to hang out washing as it just felt like a chore to keep it looking nice. Now three years later the garden is looking much worse and it is even worse to sit in it as the amount of work to do seems overwhelming. So no I rarely enjoy sitting in the garden , whether it looks nice or not really.

I do sit on my messy patio but it’s bothering me. My garden is pretty big for a little two bed house and it slopes upwards away from the house ( patio is the only flat bit) and I’m disabled so I can’t mow it. I’ve attached a pic. It’s got a huge bank of ivy & brambles running down the left, but I don’t mind that as a fox family lives there, and loads of hedgehogs. It looks quite nice in the pic, but my patio is a mess as it hasn’t been cleaned this year (I got let down ☹️) there are old pots around it and stuff that needs throwing out. The bushes and trees need cutting back a bit too. If I just sit facing the grass it’s fine and don’t look at the patio, I can cope 🤣

No, couldn't sit in a messy garden. I'm not a huge fan of gardening but love a nice garden, so it's a price I pay

I’m trying to get DH to do a quick tidy up but he has worked crazy hours this week (came home at 4 am after working 12 hours) so don’t want to nag. The border is right in the sun and since I use retinol I’m hesitant to expose myself to the sun.

No, but I wouldn’t even if it was immaculate.

I’m a vampire and I hate being in sunlight.