Give weeds a chance: how a cultivated dislike of gardening can lead to more time on the porch.(THE LAST PAGE)

Publication: Smithsonian

Publication Date: 01-AUG-05

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"Mom, the sun is not your friend," my daughter once said to me. And being out in the sun is only one of the things I don't like about gardening. I also don't like digging (too dirty), dragging hoses around (too twisty), seeing leaves close up (too veiny) and accidentally cutting worms in half with a trowel (too messy). If I ever get more money than I can bear, I'll hire a gardener. Until then, I'm fine with a tattered lawn and a border of shrubs that my father once euphemistically called "primitive."

Well, not exactly fine. Actually, I'm ashamed of dodging America's favorite pastime. It seems furtive and unpatriotic to lie on the porch sofa reading...

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