Is it wrong to covet a neighbour's garden?

Well, is it?

Isn't it our aim as gardeners to make everyone want our garden? I guess to some extent it is, but mostly we garden because we love it. If others appreciate our little portion of world beautification then it's a bonus, but our hobby doesn't stem from enticing others to desire what we've achieved.

I can appreciate my neighbours garden without craving to have it, or a garden like it.

I'm using the term 'neighbour' quite loosely because some of the gardens I covet are not even in my suburb. Some don't even reside within my state, and some aren't even grown in this country. But, in a global-village-kind-of-way they are still my neighbours... and I still lust after their gardens.

5 Reasons why it's bad to covet your neighbour's garden

• There's nothing they do that you can't - especially if they're literal neighbours. Every plant that grows in their garden could grow equally as well in yours. Your soil could be as healthy, your plants as pest-free and your flowers as big (if not bigger).

  True, they may have more money than you and able to hire the best landscaper's etc but if you're lusting after that then you might want to get your head read. Most of the gardens I covet have very minimal landscaping and structural features but use what they have and adhere to the adage..."if you've got it - flaunt it."

• Competition is for the soccer field - unless, of course, you struggle with Ugly-Parent-Syndrome - then it's probably best to stay away from the soccer pitch altogether.

  Seriously though, when you covet your neighbours garden there is a tendency to either give up and not even try or worse, take up the challenge and begin competing with them. When we start competing with our neighbour for "Best Garden in the Street" our knowledge and experiences become treasured possessions that can't be shared for fear of handing over the 'secret herbs and spices recipe'.

  I've always found that the best way to learn is to ask questions from those you admire and be willing to share some of your own experiences. This creates trust and then, mutually, ideas can flourish.

• Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - unless you're a gardener...then it just shows that you lack imagination. If God had wanted us to all have the same gardens He wouldn't have bothered giving us millions of plants. He could have just come up with the Home Depot range.

  Sure, it's okay to like someone else's garden and appreciate their creativity and talent but to want to copy it is another thing.

  I love to be inspired by another's garden, take some ideas and then form them into something unique for my own garden. I guess this is why I balk so badly at garden gnomes, gazing balls and tacky water features. It's because they say originality as much as "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?"

• You're garden is special - and your garden should reflect that. It is yours, after all. You need to take some pride in what you're creating and elevate your own gardening achievements without comparing them to next-doors.

  Put up a sign in your front yard that says, "This is the only garden of its kind in the world," if you need to remind yourself.

  The plot of land you're working with has its own demographics. Divots, culverts, mounds, bogs, groves whatever. Use whatever feature you have and create something entirely unique. If you're always looking at your neighbours garden you'll find yourself wanting to remove some of the features that could become the beauty spot of your garden.

• What are you missing out on? - when horse and carriages once ruled the motorways they would put 'blinkers' on the side of the horses eyes. This would stop them from looking around and being enticed from the direction they were supposedly heading.

  If we spend too much time coveting our neighbours garden we can easily miss what is going on in our gardens and in others around us. Our focus is consumed by the garden we desire that we can actually miss the more desirable.

So, next time you find yourself looking over the neighbours fence make sure it's because you're trading ideas. If you begin to covet what your neighbour has created, I can guarantee that you will end up despising gardening altogether.