Forget the pursuit of the perfect plant

Perfection is over-rated. It's also tough on the garden, on wildlife -- and on the gardener.

Experienced gardeners know this. We're used to the holes punched in rose foliage by leafcutter bees. We don't fly into a frenzy when the sunflower leaves are pecked by lesser goldfinches. And we know that the water spots or ragged edges or sunburn or slightly curled leaves are part of what happens as the weather changes and the plants adjust. 

There is no perfection in nature, but newbie gardeners or obsessives keep trying to achieve -- or worse, maintain -- that magazine-perfect look in their backyard gardens.

Sacramento has been spoiled this year, I admit, by the mild weather through the spring. The plants look happier than ever, unstressed so far by extreme heat. My tomato plants especially are gorgeous, full of developing fruit.

I did not achieve that by spraying them with insecticide every day. 

Yes, there is a gardener out there in the Sacramento area who sprays "insect killing soap" on his plants TWICE A DAY; he posted that on a Facebook gardening group that I'm a (mostly lurking) member of. This boggles the mind; never mind the fact that the package itself says "apply every 5-7 days as long as insects are present." There can't be a flying or crawling critter within half a mile of his garden by now. And he has a broad-spectrum insecticide as a "backup." Ay-yi-yi.

(By the way, spraying an infested plant with water is an excellent way to battle aphids, whiteflies, spider mites and powdery mildew. Just water.)

That same social media group has some members who fuss over every slight imperfection on leaves, who water twice a day "just in case" then wonder why a plant's leaves turn yellow, or who worry that their vegetable plants are dropping some flowers unpollinated. (It's biology, people, think about it.)