Just a few tongue in cheek guidelines. Some I’ve shamelessly stolen, particularly from permaculture rules.
1) Don’t try and do too much = start small.
2) Nature abhors a vacuum = weeds grow to fill the land available and then some.
3) There is no such place as “away”. Everything comes from somewhere and goes to somewhere. Garden responsibly, and sustainably.
4) The gardener’s shadow is the best fertiliser. By walking the plot you can spot trouble early and nip it in the bud, whether it is a pest that could become a plague, or a nutrient deficiency.
5) Don’t kill your enemies, love your friends. This is in respect to pest control, animals not plants! Better to make a home for a toad than spread around slug pellets.
6) Life’s too short to mow the lawn. Or is this just me being lazy? You could have a lawn for camping on I suppose, but generally, mow paths and edges, but leave the wild flowers to bloom and harvest the bulk for compost.
7) Observe, learn, experiment, observe. What works for someone else may or may not work for you in your garden.
8) Do it once, do it properly. This goes for house maintenance as well…..
9) Grow what likes your environment. Acid soil, wet, dry, windy, hot…there is a plant that will thrive in that niche somewhere in the world. Although it is interesting to push the boundaries see https://skyeent.wordpress.com/2017/09/21/happy-habby-garden-ph-testing/
10) Don’t do as I do, do as I say. Most of the above I don’t follow. It’s easy to be a good gardener in theory!
Anyone for anymore?
SkyeEnt 
The rules look good to me!
I haven’t seen a toad in my garden for a year or two but maybe there will be some this autumn. Of course, they could be in the undergrowth – seems strange I don’t see them now when the garden is even cleaner (I.e. it’s now years since my predecessor and her glysophate) than it was a couple of years or so ago.
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I suspect toads don’t read books either! I used to have one that lived in the polytunnel, which you would have thought would be a bit hot and dry. Haven’t seen him in a while.
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11) a bird friendly garden, birds are the gardeners best friend, I think of them as my little helpers, the birds take care of most of the slugs in my garden, especially the Thrush, I sometimes see a frog though not for some months now,
I used to do 9, acid soil = acid loving plants, the problem though is that most acid loving plants are woodland plants so do not cope with an open aspect and salty winds, and as I said on a previous post changing the soil slightly to nearer netrual weakens the local acid loving weeds,
definately do 6, I dislike lawns so boring,
I would add to ‘8) Do it once, do it properly.’ and maintain or it will revert,
Frances
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I think bird friendly comes under 5) love your friends – I meant it to be inclusive (ladybirds, salamanders, whatever …) although birds can be a nuisance as well of course! I think 9) just makes life easier, but when you’re at the extreme like us you have to alter the environment a little bit, or all you’ll grow is sheep! I accept your modification on 8). I’m less good at the maintenance bit! Probably becasue I don’t follow No 1) keep it small either!
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Thank you very much for the vetch seeds. They arrived today and I am going to sow them once I’ve cleared a space 😊.
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Glad to hear they’ve arrived. I’ve been sorting my old seeds out as well here.
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