Is gardening outdated

[BulbsAndLampsDiffer]

I live on an estate, on my road I am generally surrounded by couples/ single mums in their 30s and 40s. I am single mum try to maintain my garden both front and rear, paining fences, mowing the lawn and general weeding, so very cheap and easy. However when looking around I feel like the only one to be doing do with lots of weeds on driveways and un mown front gardens. I know it’s not a priority in modern busy life.
For convex some one said to me years ago it is impossible to have a tidy home, tidy child and tidy mum. And I do let myself slip in order to keep my home and child looking put together.
No judgment just curious if where I live is the norm.
YABU too busy to pull up weeds
YANBU pride in your garden

I don't know if it's outdated but I have just spent an hour planting new plants, it makes me happy being outdoors.

The vote doesn't tally with the comments on this thread.

But won't that just mean we will track a load of grass cuttings into the house and cars that will then need cleaning up? Plus the grass will look a different kind of mess because it's got cut up grass all over it.

Genuine question.

We might be able to wipe our feet and take our shoes off but the cats won't.

We maintain our garden but I could imagine if I were working full time it’d be a hard to manage so agree entirely.

I don’t currently have a garden, but when I buy next year hoping one of my green fingered friends will help out. My dad was a great gardener, but not me! But I might be shamed into doing the front garden.

Weeds are still plants. There's no real difference between the plants you actually plant and the "weeds" that decide where they want to grow other than at some point in the past, someone decided the not-weeds were worth cultivating. I'd love to have more time to garden, to actually decide on which species i'd keep or add, but for the moment I'm happy to watch the pollinators enjoying the herb Robert, green alkanet, red and white valerian, Clover, speedwell, dandelions etc that have sprung up with no effort on my part. I'd much prefer to see an overgrown garden than one that's been made sterile in the name of "tidiness"

I've just read up about mulching on Reddit and it seems I'll have to cut the grass 2 to 3 times a week otherwise its too long. So not a time saver even if its 'easier'.

You are right @Morgenrot25. It’s like so many things nowadays made into a big deal to do something relatively simple. I was a single parent for fifteen years and working full time. I still managed to keep a front and back garden fairly tidy. Children can also help out in the garden. I think all able bodied social housing tenants should be obligated to keep their gardens reasonably tidy as part of their tenancy. I believe private landlords do that? If they can’t do that then they should be moved to properties without gardens. Maybe the tenants without gardens would love an opportunity to swap with them?

@Bridport what aspect is your front garden? It's very colourful.

It's south facing and very warm. I grow similar in the back garden which is north facing and it comes up the same but just takes longer and flowers later in the year.

I honestly can’t believe how popular this thread is. (While I’ve been out in the garden tidying up)
I would like to add I am all for the wild garden and wildlife it is beautiful and can be a lot of hard work. It’s the weeds in between slabs and block paving that I find odd. Like others have said no tools required and get the kids involved. In relation to letting myself slip. I have never been one for daily make up. I pride myself in being clean and clean clothes which are often outdated due to cash. As long as my kids are well cared for and happy to bring friends round without embarrassment of me or their home I am happy.

I’ve got weeds in my garden that come up to my boobs 😂. My cats, the local wildlife and my rabbit absolutely love my wild garden.

What's a wild flower and what's a weed? People plant fancy grasses, but condemn weeds, which our pollinators need. I was asked by a neighbour why I wasn't pulling up the thistles growing between my flags. They were full of butterflies, every day. They were a vibrant purple and deep green, why would I because some people think that they are weeds? Even basic wild plants are full of insects. Then you see the birds feeding off them when it rains.
Basic gardening equipment isn't cheap. You can go around taking cuttings from fuchsias etc, other than that, plants are expensive. Luckily most council estates have someone going around, working cash in hand, to do the grass. But people often genuinely don't have time, when the weather is good.

People are just plain lazy, it doesn’t take much to keep the outside tidy from weeds.
Bet they’ve time to binge watch their favourite series.
There seems to be a set of society who haven’t been brought up to be able to cook, or know how to look after a house, or themselves.

Basic gardening equipment isn't cheap - it is one of those things you can buy really cheaply second hand though. I buy mine at junk shops, car boot sales and vintage markets.

You can go around taking cuttings from fuchsias etc, other than that, plants are expensive - seeds are very cheap though. You can buy packets for next to nothing in poundshops, home bargains, lidl etc. Rake some soil and sow seeds like foxgloves, forget-me-not, nigella, californian poppies, fleabane, cornflower and fennel these will sow themselves around your garden and come back for free year after year.

I'm the same. I spend a lot more effort on the back garden because that's what we look at from the kitchen and living room, and where we spend most of our time. I have cottage garden style borders and a vegetable patch.

The front is definitely more neglected with some weeds growing through the paving. I pull them up but it's a never ending battle so it's never going to look immaculate. It isn't a complete mess though, we purposefully keep the front very low maintenance. We have some evergreen shrubs that I trim back once or twice a year and I've planted daffodil bulbs and hardy geraniums that pop up every year and can pretty much be ignored.

i agree
i make very half hearted attempts at weeding.
i let my garden grow and enjoy the birds and the bees

i planted dandelion seeds, grown for my guinea pigs now RIP

I love gardening. I was about 26 when I started doing it, half heartedly and wasn’t sure which plants would live in the places I was planting them.

more recently, over the last ten years or so, it’s been to help with stress, general mental health. I just pop my earphones in and crack on and it’s relaxing, even doing the weeding.

My front garden is a bit of an eyesore - no weeds, just not many plants and not very well organised, because we’ve concentrated on the back this year and planted a lot of perennials to hopefully make it cheaper in the future - it should just be a case of maintaining the back now.

Im doing the same with front next year so just starting to save for that as have my wish list of plants. It can be very expensive which I think deters some people. I’ve wasted money over the years but I think I’ve got the hang of it now.

Ok, shall I choose pulling out the weeds, sorting the laundry, hoovering, helping my kids with their homework, marking other kids' homework, planning their lessons, helping my elderly parents, maintaining a relationship, shopping, cooking or sleeping? Which of that list do you think is most expendable? Any downtime I do have it's usually dark or raining.

There definitely seems to be set of society who haven't been brought up to understand how other people may choose to live their lives and are subsequently fucking judgey and rude about them.

Do come and join us in the Gardening Board, where you'll find your tribe ready to share our gardening exploits and give advice on how to stop your clematis getting powder mildew and pruning tips for roses etc.

gardening isn't for everyone, but those of us who have the bug, will tell you we don't care what other people do, we enjoy it.

judging by the comments on this thread, gardening shouldn't be weaponised, it's a peaceful and environment-loving activity and I've never seen anyone making nasty judgemental comments about laziness just because someone has a few weeds growing on their path. Life's bloody tough enough as it is without pointing fingers.

Same. If I had a full time job outside of the house my garden would not look like it does as I wouldn't be able to give it the time it needs.
However, weeds in other peoples gardens doesn't really bother me as they are beneficial to wildlife.
What does bother me is gardens concreted over and covered in Astro turf, but I also understand that other people may not have the inclination or the ability to be able to care for the space so that's what works for them. I just make sure my garden is full of plants, as does my next door neighbour.

Fibrous lovely garden and a fabulous view 💗

And let it bloom June!