Blue Planet Garden Blog

Maximizer or Satisficer - which one are you?

While reading the Sunday Wall Street  Journal yesterday, I was intrigued by a topic that came up in the Yoder and Son column.  It referenced an article written by Prof. Barry Schwartz entitled “The Tyranny of Choice.”

The gist of the article is that most of us fall into a spectrum between maximizers (those who strive to make the best possible choice) and satisficers (those who aim for good enough, despite recognizing that better choices might exist).  Interestingly, the article goes on to suggest that despite the extra worry and effort, maximizers tend to be less happy with their choices as exploring so many options leaves them with more opportunity for regret.

Without a doubt I am a satisficer.  I never ponder options for long and usually go with my first choice – and I’m talking big ticket items here like houses, cars, career changes and husbands.  Recently a Cheesecake Factory opened up nearby but I’ll never eat there – can’t stand the thought of all those menu choices.

Conversely my husband Nick is a classic maximizer. As you can imagine, we are not very compatible shoppers.  My idea of purchasing a new household item, say a vacuum, involves looking at the Sunday ad inserts, choosing a store, going to said store, and pretty much walking out with a vacuum.  I would be home and happily vacuuming (well, maybe not happily) before Nick had even finished comparing on-line reviews, let alone crafted a comparison spreadsheet with a price vs. quality matrix.  And I agree with the premise that satisficers are generally happier with their decisions, as I rarely experience doubts, while Nick is a regular in the return line.

 

 

 

Nick's idea of the right way to begin a shopping trip.               

 

 

 

Susan's idea.

Why then, when it comes to gardening,  do I turn into a maximizer?  I agonize for weeks or even months over a tree choice, and even so have still replaced several within the first year.  Every time I come up with a particularly pleasing plant combination for a client, I immediately want to go home and rip something out to make room for what I am sure is a plant combo I will like better.  Regardless of time spent planning and choosing, I can’t stop wondering if a better option exists.

So for all your armchair psychologists out there,   I’m looking for your insight.  Do you think it has something to do with the fact that I am a garden designer by trade?  Or do all serious gardeners slip into maximizer mode when it comes to choosing plants?  Certainly much of the population does not think this way, as I’ve gone on many garden consultations where someone has recently moved and wants to basically recreate their garden from the last house.  Can you imagine?  All those options, yet no qualms about sticking to the known.

Maximzer or Satisficer – which are you?

Bringing Back the Natives Tour May 3

Garden tour season is well underway – in fact, some of you may have already reached your limit.  But if not and you’ll be anywhere near the East Bay on Sunday May 3, consider the Bringing Back the Natives Tour.  Like other tours highlighting California Natives, most notably the Going Native Garden Tour in the South Bay, this tour is free, but you must register in advance on line.

I’ll be a docent in the morning at my Master Gardener friends Mary Lu and Bob Burchard’s garden.  Works out great for me as I have a fun day and get to count my time towards the volunteer hours required to maintain my active volunteer status.  Sad to say, I barely make the minimum required each year and still have the most junior status five years after graduating from the program!  And everyone can tell, as our badges are color coded, which frankly smacks of discrimination.  Unfortunately, I’m only allowed to count the hours I am actually working and not the part where I’m enjoying fabulous BBQ turkey at the little shindig Bob and Mary Lu host at the end of the day.

This is an incredibly friendly tour; homeowners and docents love to chat with tour goers, or at least our crew does.  Some of the highlights at Mary Lu and Bob’s include:

 Their "blue garden", which is very comfortable, or so I have heard as I am not allowed to sit in it because I am supposed to be on duty.  Maybe if I color coordinate what I'm wearing I can sneak over for a snooze.

 

Here's their solar powered fountain (picture sweet trickle rather than mighty roar, but it is very cute.) They even have their very own horrible warning, an Oenothera berlandieri, Mexican Primrose, whose lovely flowers you can just make out to the right of the fountain.  Looks beautiful, but is so invasive, Mary Lu says it has actually crawled up under her raised beds and barrels and out the top.

None of their beautiful garden is due to my design skills, by the way.  I did a consultation for Bob and Mary Lu years ago, and while they have frequently thanked me for the input, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that they essentially ignored all my advice!  Theirs was the first garden where I learned that for the most part, Master Gardeners do not take kindly to the suggestion that they have too many plants.

In the afternoon, I’ll be visiting some other gardens, including my friend and fellow designer Kelly Marshall’s garden. 

And fellow blogger and nurseryman Troy McGregor will be selling plants from his California natives nursery at Ledgerwood garden.

 

Hope to see some of you there! (unless I'm napping in the blue garden, then please don't wake me.)

If the hipster bloggers are all into sheep these days, then I guess I am too

What with all the nattering in the blogosphere these days on chickens and sheep, I thought I’d get in on the action.  While in the Anderson Valley last week, we stopped at Navarro Winery and in addition to tasting some yummy Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, took a brief stroll over to their vineyard to admire their weed control system.

Since 1999, the winery has used Babydoll South Down sheep to keep the weeds down between the vines.  As they grow no taller than 24”, they can’t reach the grapes, making them the perfect choice for weed control. 

As you can see from the photos below, during my visit I saw a lot more standing-arounding and basking-in-the-sunning than I did weed eating, but perhaps the little dears were just resting from an earlier feeding frenzy.

 

 

(or maybe taking a break to enjoy the incredible view?)

The South Down breed of sheep originated in Sussex County, England and were imported to the U.S. in the 1800's where they have since been crossed with bigger sheep to product a larger breed. (because even when the goal is to make something small, we Americans like our version to be the biggest.)  If you’re interested in breeding, the North American Babydoll Sheep Breeder’s Association  has a lengthy list of breeding standards, but here is a general description:

“Babydoll Southdown sheep are known for easy handling and docile dispositions. They are nurturing mothers. Their small size and easy keeping metabolism requires less acreage per animal compared to other breeds. Thus they are referred to as being "Easy Keepers."
Babydoll Southdown's are primarily used as grass mowers, pets, 4H, and show projects in both conformation and wool.”

FYI, I skipped the next bit about meat flavor and carcass quality (whatever icky thing that means) as it didn’t seem in keeping with the otherwise adorable nature of the post.

See ya next week

Hi all,

Nick and I are headed out of town for a few days to celebrate our anniversary.  Now I know what you're thinking - vacation pictures, yippee!  Don't worry, won't torture you with photos of me in front of the country's biggest ball of string or anything, but if I see any amazing gardens, I may snap a shot or two.

Not that you need any recommendations for alternate garden blogs while I'm away, as most of you follow too many already, and I am barely managing a post a week these days,  but here are a few I've been enjoying lately:

If you like your blog posts with a dose of humor, check out Callus and Chlorophyll (thanks Daffodil for recommending this one).  Conclusively proves you don't need photos to have a garden blog.  I've also been dipping into a new blog called Plotz, where Georgy Girl writes about Ghetto Gardening in the U.K.  Again, no photos, and not a lot of specifics this Northern California gardener can use, but I like the style - and what newbie vegetable gardener doesn't dream of a veggie patch so successful that the bathroom will need to be converted into a canning factory?

Until next week!

Enjoying Spring on a Budget

 Now that spring is here, my garden is full of sunshine, but, sadly, my wallet is empty of cash.

The arrival of spring is usually my signal to go on a spending spree of new landscape and home projects – not to mention shopping for cute sandals.  But like many others, this year I’m watching my pennies more carefully.  So here’s a list of springtime bargains I’m enjoying this week:

Binging on fresh asparagus from the farmer’s market

I could probably eat my weight in asparagus and look forward to its arrival every spring when it is both affordable and locally grown.

Buying Trader Joe's Daffodils

They start out in late winter at $4.50 a bunch, but by this time of year a bouquet of ten stems is a mere $1.29.  That’s low enough to splurge for a bouqet in the living room plus one upstairs on my night stand.

Finding nail salon bargains

For me, sandal season is synonymous with pedicure season.  I save money by skipping the mani – I only wreck it as soon as I get home and start attacking the garden anyway. (although dark polish does disguise dirty fingernails.)  My other suggestion:  save $2.00 to $5.00 by adding toe art to one toe only.  Doing both big toes is way too matchy-matchy anyway.

Not my toe, by the way.  You'd be surprised how hard it is to take a close up of your own toe.

Just don’t follow my example and become so engrossed in a magazine article about Britney’s latest comeback that you stop supervising your manicurist.  Lucy took advantage of my lack of attention to release her inner crafter and went a little crazy with the glitter bottle.  (You were thinking my money saving tip would be to paint your own toenails?  Get real!  I said I was on a budget, not that I was destitute.)

Updating my ipod.

   

No gym membership for me; I'd rather get my exercise outdoors this time of year.  Walking is my favorite activity right now – it’s not too hot and not too cold.  I’ll be investing in some new tunes and am looking for suggestions.  Just keep them in the happy pop music category,  as I’m musically challenged and like to walk while listening to songs along the lines of great-beat-easy-to-dance-to. And I've been known to pause for an occasional air guitar break, which might explain the reason no one ever accepts an invitation to join me.

 

Enjoying the fruits of my gardening labor

And finally, instead of lavishing all my time and attention on my garden, I make sure to lavish some on myself.  My serious gardening friends are so busy working on their gardens, they sometimes forget to take time off to relax and enjoy them.  Nick and I will be sitting in ours this evening (reading books from the library, of course!).  With all the money we’re saving, for an extra $2.00 a bottle, I’ve upgraded our wine selection from Two Buck Chuck to Trader Joe’s Coastal Cabernet.  Perfect with grilled asparagus from the farmer's maket.