DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am lucky enough to have gardens all around my house, including along a city sidewalk. My problem is how to respond in a cordial, or at least a civil, way to friends and neighbors who ask me complicated questions about my garden while I am working in it.

These are not people who know how to garden, which is part of why answering them is complicated. I hate to be rude, but I also want to complete my task.

My responses have included pretending I don’t hear the person, or saying, “If you really want to know about this, we can find a time to talk when I’m not gardening.” But my rudeness doesn’t stop them!

I don’t want to resort to running and hiding, since then I leave the task undone. My plants need me more than my questioners!

GENTLE READER: While she agrees that neither pretending not to hear nor running and hiding are good solutions, Miss Manners believes that offering a later time will work if you persist politely.

The key may be to keep working while you make the offer. If the questioner tries to keep the conversation going (“Yes, but I was wondering …”), the answer is, “That’s exactly the sort of thing we should find another time to discuss” — as you continue to dig and water.

You can then say “excuse me” and find a task that requires you to face a different direction.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at missmanners.com, by email to [email protected], or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.