Men and women differ in their gardening styles
Bzzz . . . Bzzzz . . .
Step outside in summer and you’ll often hear it. Bzzz . . . bzzz . . . bzzzzz . . . An awful, insistent noise that can drive you nuts.
No, it doesn’t come from bees. That sound is made by men. Using weed whackers.
Boy, how guys do love their weed whackers. I was watching a young male city employee swinging and swiping at overgrown grass in a park the other day and I wanted to shout, “Watch that tree, you moron” because he kept hitting the trunk of a small linden. A few more swipes and the poor tree will die, I thought.
His overzealous whacking got me thinking how differently men and women approach the act of gardening. And with Father’s Day coming up, it seems appropriate to take a look at those gender differences.
But whoops. Generalizations about the sexes are always dangerous (especially nowadays, when everyone is so touchy), so these are strictly my own personal observations. Agree or disagree, it’s up to you.
Men want control. That’s why they love power tools. Weed whackers, monster lawn mowers, leaf blowers, roto tillers, chain saws, mechanical hedge trimmers, power washers, you name it. They all spring from a desire to show Mother Nature who’s boss.
Women, on the other hand, want to play gentle, nurturing Mommy. They’re often afraid of power tools (“Will I damage the plants or hurt myself?”) and prefer to garden manually. Research shows that buyers of hand trowels are overwhelmingly women. And, with couples, wives are usually the ones who want to get a push mower.
What’s a task that guys love? Easy. Pruning. Every man I know aches to get the loppers out, even if he hasn’t a clue how to prune properly. Blame that controlling urge again.
Women, though, tend to put off pruning for too long. They worry about killing the tree/shrub/plant if they screw up.
The average man doesn’t give a toss about garden design or colour schemes of flowers. Ask him if he’d like to see a “hot garden” and he’ll look blank and think you want to buy a hot tub. Fretting about colours that will harmonize nicely together is mostly the domain of women.
Men want to be able to brag a bit about their accomplishments. Thus, they love the challenge of something difficult to achieve — a spectacularlooking lawn, perhaps, or a giant pumpkin, or getting a tricky orchid to bloom.
Women are competitive too, but in a different way. Their abiding interest is in creating a garden that will outshine their neighbours’.
Men don’t weed. Period. You will rarely see a guy on his hands and knees pulling out weeds by hand. Traditionally, it was a job assigned to women and that still seems to apply.
Men will, however, yank out weeds with a tool and they’re big buyers of dandelion diggers. Gary McLaughlin, an artist I know (who has an immaculate weed-free backyard in Neustadt, Ont.), even zaps his undesirables with a propane-powered “flame thrower.”
“I got this gizmo at Lee Valley and I love it,” he says gleefully. “If I didn’t have it, I’d never weed a thing.”
Father’s Day gift ideas, anyone?
Note: this weekend, gardeners of both sexes are invited to celebrate a new and growing event called Garden Days. Lots of stuff happening in Ontario. Info: gardendays.ca
Another good garden tour: in Mississauga June 26, organized by Credit Valley Hort Society. Tickets $15 from Sheridan Nurseries and other local garden centres. soniaday.com