Transformation
May 2016
May 31, 2015
May 16, 2016
I've been working diligently on a big change.
This change is to transform the garden area that is just beyond
our screened porch.
For years, this area has consisted of four rectangular garden
beds surrounded by Cypress boards. Three beds were 4' x 16' and the last one,
furthest to the SSW, was 4' x 8'. At the ends of each I had formed semicircular
mini-beds, usually bordered by brick. I always referred to the main beds as RB#1, 2,
3 and 4, RB#4 being the shorter one.
Between RB#1 and the sidewalk was a rather wild area of Lemon
Balm, Wild Bergamot, Goldenrod and whatever else worked. It has always been a
great spot for pollinators.
November 30, 2014 - "wild" area to the right of RB#1, showing old stalks of Wild Bergamot
That wild area is still there and is somewhat representative
of the changes taking place. I have planned to change the whole area from
angular beds containing fairly wall-planned plantings of mostly vegetables into
a wilder spot of mostly herbs, with a rambling path winding through. During a
small herb festival in central Indiana last year, I was inspired by such a
place – the main garden of the herbalist property owner there.
But, this was not the only inspiration. I'd say it was the
impetus to go forth. The match that lit the candle I'd already formed. The
window opening on a house I'd built. The stream pouring from a pitcher I'd
already filled, and now I could see the nature of the water and how it could
flow.
I am already a very organic person – not just in safe
gardening methods and food consumption, but in the broadest sense of the word.
I take an organic approach to everything, a
down-to-earth/let's-get-to-the-reality-of-things approach.
In gardening, this was always true but not fully manifested
until now. For years I confined myself to planting in rows, or in rows within
beds, or to neat arrays within beds (after I learned more about companion
planting), or some sort of pattern. I always have loved pattern – in music,
fabric print, art, etc. So, I thought that was what suited me, naturally, for
gardening.
But, gardening is not like those other things. You are
dealing with living plants that have their own ideas, so to speak, about where
and how to grow. They have their own natural forces, their own methods from
constant adaptation and evolution. I learned from wild plants that they know
just what to do to be successful.
I was drawn to the French Intensive garden method in which
vegetables, herbs, flowers and small fruits are planted together in raised
beds, but with planning and a sense of pattern, so I did that for a long time.
I enjoyed, every year, laboring over my raised bed plans on paper, developing
rotation patterns for vegetables. It was a creative effort. Those were good and
sometimes elaborate, but I kept changing the pattern until it wasn't a pattern.
April 25, 2014 - He-Shi-Ko Scallion plants in rows within raised bed
And, I found that I had a hard time doing away with a plant
that came up as a volunteer, full of vigor, in a place I didn't want it. What
could I do if a nice-looking cabbage volunteer came up where there were cabbage
family plants the year before, and when that family needs to be on a three-year
rotation to avoid pests and diseases? And those Tina James' Magic Primrose
plants – they pop up in a different spot every year (I never know where it will
be) and take up loads of space. That really messed up my intricate plans!
October 3, 2015 - A volunteer peach tree, probably sprouted from a peach pit that was in added compost. I am leaving it to see how it does.
Tina James' Magic Primrose plants on May 27, 2016, in the middle of the garden area
I also found that I was gravitating more toward healing
“herbs”, whether wild or cultivated. Learning to use them for myself and my
family was becoming more important to me. I learned the medicinal value of
plants such as Dandelion, Plantain, Dock, Chickweed and Blue Violets, making it
harder for me to remove them. These are all persistent plants, too. Removing
them seemed more like taking away the strong, creative spirit of a “difficult”
child.
So, there it was. I was in transition, and my garden was
reflecting that. The beds were getting wilder. To the “untrained” eye, they
must have looked like weed patches.
November 11, 2015 - RB#1 is lush and green with flowers and vegetables. The remains of Garlic Chives are in the foreground, at the near end of RB#2.
And I felt myself transitioning away from an ordered, angular, patterned life-way. How many
times had I tried setting up strict schedules for myself that soon fell apart?
It wasn't working anymore, this compartmentalization of things, this forcing
into a pattern. I couldn't ignore the “wild”, and I no longer wanted to. There
was a freedom developing within me, wanting to go out, be brighter and wilder.
I was becoming a more relaxed person, one who needed to meander, to stop and
see what was happening here and there, to let things just be.
And so that's what my main garden needed to be. This
transformation was going on within me, and when I saw the herbalist's garden
last year I knew what had to happen. The window opened, and I “saw the light”,
so to speak.
I walked out to my raised bed area with a clipboard, paper
and pencil. I roughly sketched the perimeter that I had to work with and paced
out the size of it, as well as distances to the compost bins, the long resting
bench, the pump in front of the well house, the old apple tree, etc. No more
strings and rulers. No graph paper.
Then I roughly sketched in where there were plants I wanted
to keep and go around – perennials, biennials, some successful, diligent
re-seeders.
April 17, 2016 - Perennial Leeks and the biennial Giant Italian Parsley
May 3, 2016 - Egyptian Walking Onions, continued by starts from my father's garden
May 6, 2016 - Primrose and Angelica in the middle, Chamomile in the foreground
Then I sketched a path. This was interesting. I let the
garden, and the plants, show me where to go with that. I didn't impose
anything, including my own ideas. I went around the “keeper” plants. I wandered
around on foot as much as I could, to get a feel for it. I allowed this
transformation to be known in my mind's eye, and I liked the result. Maybe this
was indicative of where my path was going in other aspects of my life.
April 17, 2016
I found an old green hose too damaged to use (I knew I was
saving it for some reason) and draped it through the area, showing where the
path would be. This helped me better to eye things.
March 25, 2016 - boards removed, but raised beds still evident
I wasn't able to do much about it again until after a series
of heavy rains in early spring. At first I removed practically all of the
Cypress boards (which were mostly rotten) to put down at the barn. In doing so,
I found a native Mantis egg case attached to one, a special treat since we
almost always find those of the Chinese Mantid, attached to stalks.
There were days and days of heavy rain. When I could, I
started moving earth, taking some where the paths would be and adding it to
where garden places would be, especially in the lower areas that had been
between raised beds. This alone was a huge transformation that changed the way
the whole area felt. Also, there were spots of rich, dark soil where I had been
adding compost and other healthy stuff over the years, full of
worms, so I made sure that went on planting spaces. Eventually, the paths
consisted of clay soil that had not been enhanced.
I began to lay newspapers and cardboard in the paths as I
created them, and weighted those down. This was to suppress weeds (which
trampling would eventually help to do, too) and make it easier to walk when
things got muddy. Eventually I will cover all of that with something like wood
chips.
March 25, 2016 - the path mulching begins
May 3, 2016 - more soil sculpting and path mulching
May 6, 2016 - the West Entrance - Garlic Chives to the left, Egyptian Walking Onions to the right
May 6, 2016 - more sculpting, and the North Entrance appears
Growing areas were becoming more defined. Some ended up high
from the path, others more level with it. This would help me determine what
kinds of plants to put in open spaces, and the terrain changes also added
interest along the way.
May 6, 2016 - a raised, central area becomes obvious
May 6, 2016 - view from the South (South Entrance taking shape in the lower right)
May 6, 2016 - a new bed is formed, the outside edge lined with railroad station bricks (a short board left in the garden shows where one end of a raised bed used to be)
I started to remove some plants. As spring moved on with more
rain, sun and warmth, more volunteers showed up, growing taller and broader,
and more vigorous. As much as I don't like to remove them, I decided to remove
a number of them – there were just too many. But, I did it gradually, removing
plants as things took shape. However, I did intend to make use of lots of them
such as drying Dandelion leaves for green powder, roasting Dandelion roots for
tea, making Plantain leaf salve, etc. I would strategically leave some of these
plants in the garden. Garlic Chives were the most prolific and dense, so I
significantly decreased that population, leaving one large patch.
May 6, 2016 - the northwest corner, yet to be tackled
May 27, 2016 - Yarrow (blooming) left in place, and grass next to it to be removed
May 27, 2016 - I don't know what that very tall plant is - I am waiting for it to bloom to figure it out
May 27, 2016 - Besides leaving some plants, I also left one animal sign. I had discovered this snake hole some years ago while digging - and had also seen the snake! I had forgotten about it until I was forming the paths and beds of this new garden. It remains to be seen if a snake is still using it, but the hole is now more exposed at the edge of the path.
Gradually, I added plants that I had grown or bought, putting
the highly-scented ones next to the path so that people would brush against
them. The scents would help them enjoy the garden even more.
May 18, 2016 - Munstead Lavender
May 18, 2016 - Hidecote Lavender, on the opposite side of the path from the Munstead
May 27, 2016 - Common Sage
May 27, 2016 - Pineapple Sage
May 18, 2016 - Lemon Thyme, Oregano and others in a new bed
April 17, 2016 - Carouby the Maussane snow pea seeds planted
May 31, 2016 - Carouby the Maussane pea plants growing taller - seed for Arkansas Little Leaf Cucumbers, Nasturtiums and Petunias planted in front
May 27, 2016 - Mammoth Dill and Purple Cauliflower tucked in next to the West Entrance
May 27, 2016 - little cherry tomato plants
May 18, 2016 - Sunflowers transplanted from a French garden in town, looking wilted ...
... but perking up by May 27, 2016.
May 31, 2016 - a corner of Calendula coming up from scattered seed
May 27, 2016 - Hardy Kiwi and Goji Berry plants have been put in. They are next to the sticks covered with plastic bags (which have the growing information printed on them.) In the background is a tall plant that turned out to be volunteer Hollyhock. but the color of the flowers remains a mystery until bloom time.
May 27, 2016 - one of the Hardy Kiwi plants
Gradually, I added some fun items here and there.
May 27, 2016 - Frog Buddy
May 27, 2016 - framed by Blue Violet plants and Angelica blooms
May 27, 2016 - I bought this lovely dragonfly last February from a vendor at a maple syrup festival. Its wings, made from a light mesh, flutter nicely in the breeze.
In the middle of the area I placed “the decrepit old wooden
ladder.” I had just used it when helping our daughter and son-in-law paint when
the second step finally gave way. It would have a new job as support for some
Red Malabar vines and one of the Hardy Kiwi. It also added an interesting focal
point.
May 18, 2016 - as seen from the North Entrance
May 18, 2016 - as seen from the East Entrance
May 27, 2016 - Surely it is not bad luck to look through a ladder.
I find that I enjoy walking the path, even though it is not
all mulched yet and there is still much work to do transforming this garden. It
gives me a sense of place, and I can test to see that it's really going where
it needs to go. I've done just a little bit of tweaking to make it easier to
walk.
May 27, 2016
May 27, 2016
It turns out that the cats love it, too. From the beginning,
Mireille has been merrily trotting along the trail, sometimes stopping to roll
around or scratch her claws on the cardboard. For some reason, the path helped
her discover the Catnip that has been there for years.
May 4, 2016 - Mireille traipsing along the new path, as she often does
May 18, 2016 - Mireille discovers the old Catnip
The other cats have been investigating and exploring, too. I have to wonder what chickens would do, if we still had them.
May 27, 2016 - Silas next to the Tina James' Magic Primroses
It is still transforming. But, when I am working in any part
of it, I feel more “at home” than I have in any other garden. It connects with
something in me. The atmosphere is right. It transforms me by tapping into
something that I already have.
Every now and again I work on another section – whatever most
needs it next. I have developed four entrances, which I had drawn on paper
according to where they just needed to fall. But, they have taken form in new
ways (such as becoming widely flared to the outside) and they just happen to be
in the four directions.
May 27, 2016 - near the "wild area", the North Entrance to the right
May 27, 2016 - at the North Entrance
Instead of planning it all ahead, I am flowing with the
process, and the process then flows along with me.
May 18, 2016 - West Entrance
And, the view from the screened porch is getting more and
more interesting.
May 31, 2015
May 16, 2016
