13d (edited) • General discussion
Consistency versus intensity
April: Tending what’s already growing
I’ve been thinking about the difference between consistency and intensity.
Around here, many “gardening” services arrive with a van full of power tools.
Everything is cut back hard, cleared quickly, loaded up… and taken away.
Then the cycle repeats a few weeks later.
It looks efficient.
But I’m not convinced it serves the land — or the people — particularly well.
My approach is much quieter.
I tend to keep secateurs in my pocket and move slowly through the garden whenever I’m outside. A snip here, a small adjustment there. Almost daily, when the weather allows.
Over time, this light, consistent attention: – keeps things in shape
– provides cuttings for propagation
– creates mulch
– feeds livestock
– returns nutrients back into the system
No petrol.
No noise.
No sudden shock to the landscape.
Just small, ongoing care.
It’s easy to assume that doing things faster or more forcefully is somehow better.
But in many cases, it’s simply more visible — not more effective.
Tending asks something different of us: patience, presence, and a willingness to work with what’s already here.
Small, steady actions don’t look dramatic.
But they’re what allow systems — and relationships — to truly flourish.
This is the kind of thinking behind the Small Shifts approach — learning to notice, then respond with care.
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Consistency versus intensity
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