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Undergardener - control, management and motivation tips please.

B3B3 Posts: 13,667
in The potting shed
My main tip is give them a little knowledge, but not enough to have an opinion.
Tips and observations would be appreciated.
In London. Keen but lazy.

Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 6,532
    Praise, tea and biscuits. Never fails  :)
  • Singing GardenerSinging Gardener EssexPosts: 1,012
    Don't ask them if there are any plants they like the look of when visiting a garden centre. You might feel obliged to buy it and find somewhere to put it!
  • B3B3 Posts: 13,667
    Yes. Mine wanted giant sunflowers. I got them and unfortunately they died for some reason😕
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • Singing GardenerSinging Gardener EssexPosts: 1,012
    What a shame! Mine likes anything that's completely whacky and weird. 

    Conversely, also a mistake to ask him what he thinks of something I'm particularly proud of....
  • B3B3 Posts: 13,667
    Does my ******* look big in this? @Singing Gardener 😉
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • NollieNollie Girona, Catalunya, Northen SpainPosts: 3,465
    Mine is pretty enthusiastic so motivation is not an issue, but has a lot of opinions and less knowledge.

    For years I was not allowed to grow Dahlias. I persevered, starting out with a sneaky Bishop of Llandalf, then stealthily introduced a few more this year. Turns out the offending plants were actually Chrysanthemums 🙄 

    Lilies are another verboten plant. The appearance of some Hemerocallis was treated with great suspicion, but I could put hand on heart and definitively state no, that is absolutely NOT what you think it is.

    Stealth gardening
    Slow drip of information
    Let them think it was their idea all along
    Use latin or common name as appropriate (e.g. never call a Hemerocallis a Day Lilly, never call a Kniphofia a Red Hot Poker).

  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,248
    edited September 2019
    I keep two UGs.  One contributes an occasional dose of muscle when the task is too much for mine, brings cups of tea out to me at the appointed times, helps cook and eat the meagre produce, and never interferes.  The other one wants to know what I'm planning to do, why, when, where and how I intend doing it, tells me it will be a lot of work, tells me why it's not a good idea, and proposes any number of alternatives, most of which are impractical, ugly, irrelevant or all three, and just occasionally makes a brilliant suggestion.  The first one is paid in kisses, cuddles and grateful endearments, the second in selective deafness.
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