I wish there was something to ease the work with a big garden, like a watering can that waters several plots at once (see plants vs zombies), and similar for hoe and planting.
another option would be to create machinery that could tend to the garden, similar to pig feeder and meat collector.
manual interaction with the animals is still rewarding and most people i know do it, regardless of having a feeder and collector.
gardening gets quite cumbersome in the big house, and i am seeing myself doing it less and less.