The Deliberate Garden

At this time of looking towards spring and planning our gardens, we must examine precisely how we want to garden. I’ve often mentioned that just as we make our homes reflect our personalities and philosophies, the gardens we create ought to do the same. The very act of gardening is a matter of exercising control over nature. Even the most natural looking garden has been contrived to look just so. It follows then to be conscious of the kind of control we use. What exactly do we want our gardens to say about ourselves? Are our ethics and ideals expressed? Is the garden an honest statement of who we are? Does the design of the garden and its plantings clearly demonstrate ones appreciation and respect for the environment?

These questions are relevant. The environment, left just as is, informs and instructs no matter what. Designing our surroundings with deliberation and purpose puts out the message that has meaning to us and enriches all who come into this space. Instead of leaving things to chance, here is the rare opportunity to get your say in a larger, more substantial way. If each of us gardened to state our values, the world would be in much better shape. Every one has the power to make a lasting impact on the environment. Lets make sure we make it a positive one.

With that in mind, here is my run down of what to take into account when gardening with presence and purpose.
Core values and abiding philosophies in protecting the environment – organic practices, native plantings outnumbering the non-native, shelters for wild life, compost bins, small lawn size and large areas of plantings.
User friendly and approachable – paths comfortable to walk on, places to sit, to play. Herbs and vegetables within easy reach so the cook does not have to make a trek to get the produce. Access to different areas should not require special effort or feel dangerous.
Easily connecting to nature by offering seasonal views, inviting birds, bees and other creatures.
A sense of humor – add elements of fun with sculpture, paths that create mystery, water features a cool tree house, plants that arouse curiosity, add color or look odd. The idea is to not take oneself too seriously.
Add interest – mix flowers and vegetables. Make a vertical wall garden. Convert a lawn into a meadow or a labyrinth. Create an orchard of espaliered fruit trees. Start a collection of specific plants.
Beauty and harmony – include trees, shrubs and flowering plants that are known for their stunning forms, shapes, variegated foliage and/or colors. Blend colors that please and complement. Strike the right balance so the garden is neither over nor under planted. Good hardscaping is very important but the plants should be the stars.
Flexibility – as you evolve, allow for the garden to evolve. When trees reach maturity and create more shade, change the plantings in its shadow accordingly. If health precludes certain chores, simplify those needs in the garden. Life is not static.

How a garden created with thought, passion and intelligence affects the world cannot be quantified. It is not tangible. Yet, it colors our thoughts, influences our habits, guides our choices and determines our wellbeing.
The deliberate garden reminds us that it is an honor and privilege to be alive.

Rain barrel to conserve water

Rain barrel to conserve water

 

Herbs on a 'fence' to conceal airconditioning as well staying handy  for the chef.

Herbs on a ‘fence’ to conceal airconditioning as well as staying handy for the chef.

 

Tree house in the meadow

Tree house in the meadow

 

Stone books

Stone books

 

Walkway

Walkway

 

Meadow with spring bulbs in bloom

Meadow with spring bulbs in bloom

 

Checkerboard garden

Checkerboard garden

 

Close-up of allium

Close-up of allium

 

Close-up of tree peony

Close-up of tree peony

(c) 2014 Shobha Vanchiswar

In The Beginning …

With the landscape entirely blanketed in white, one can only stare so much at it before the risk of getting snow-blind becomes a distinct possibility. The way it looks right now, it might be eons before the snow melts away and we catch our first glimpse of lovely, sodden, rich brown soil. I can almost smell that earthy aroma – an uplifting fragrance from an improbable mix of humus and nascent leaves. Aaah – the heart remembers.

I turn away to rest my eyes and open my mind to contemplate the creating of a garden. Its a task thats been given to me by a reader who, in making lifestyle changes is ready to become a gardener. I’m particularly taken with this because I cannot recall ever making a conscious decision to become a gardener. It is something I’ve always done. In one form or other. Just like I cannot say when I began speaking each of the languages I’m fluent in. I suspect this is true for most of us. Over the years, we have acquired skills and knowledge along with bad habits and some firmly held superstitions. Suddenly, this looks like an excellent opportunity for everybody to review their gardening philosophies, methods and even their gardens. Whether one is an old hand or a novice at working the soil, it never hurts to periodically examine our intent and how we go about pursuing it.

Why does one garden at all? These days, the only reason ( the one that I believe that matters the most) to make a garden oneself is because there is a compelling desire to do so. Following a trend, protecting the pocket-book, trying to prove something are never adequate reasons – like anything else, if the heart is not in it then it will not be sustained or successful. Gardening is the happy nexus of science and art and is bloody hard work. Physical work that gets one sweaty and stained. It can thoroughly consume your time and bank balance if you let it. Non-gardeners will summarily dismiss the gravitas and value in gardening. The weather will play havoc with your efforts whenever it can. So, are you still interested?

Having established that garden we must, how we garden changes over time. Our needs, tastes, physical abilities and financial status changes over time and pretty much determine the evolution of the garden. The important factor here is – Know Thy Self. Know your tastes and preferences, understand your budget as gardening can be very costly if you don’t pay attention, be realistic about how much time you actually have to pursue it, acknowledge your limitations – gardens must be created according to what and how much one can do and finally, be very certain that this is what you really want to do. Half-hearted attempts will yield gardens with no style or spirit.

The best advice I can give is to keep it simple. To be creative requires dreaming big but ruthless editing. Creative ideas need room to grow and breathe.
Be practical and realistic. Plan and prepare thoroughly for maintenance well into the future. Think it through. Visit as many gardens as you can – for this, we are very fortunate to have the garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program to take advantage of. Plan your visits – https://www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays. Talk to the gardeners, take notes and photographs. As much as you will be inspired, you will also learn what you do not like or should not do. In the end, have fun and take pride – in the doing, the learning and the end results.
Snowscape
Snowscape
Snowscape

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(c)2014 Shobha Vanchiswar

Love Will Keep Us Together

Even amongst those of us too jaded to get caught up in the much hyped Valentines Day observance, one cannot help being a little disarmed by the expression of a genuine ‘I love you‘. Am I right? I believe the positive response to any source of affection is integral to every living being.To love and be loved makes one secure and happy. No doubt all sorts of good compounds are generated in the biological systems and the result is an individual who functions better. One observes this clearly between humans, humans and their pets, amongst animals. Matters are not as obvious in the plant kingdom.

Love among plants? Sounds a bit far-fetched for you? That plants compete with each other for space, light and other resources is well known. The fittest (often the thug) survive. But, we don’t consider that perhaps, plants have a way to cooperate with each other that is yet to be fully understood by man. Empirical evidence of this abounds. Consider the fact that wherever grows poison ivy, there grows jewelweed. Now, that cannot be for human benefit can it? The fact that the nasty, itchy inflammation caused by poison ivy is effectively counteracted by the juice from the stem of jewelweed is incidental. I present to you instead – jewelweed attracts bees, hummingbirds and other such pollinators. While the birds are around they get to feast on the drupe-like fruit of the nearby poison ivy. Seeds of the ivy pass through the digestive tracts and and find themselves dispersed wherever the birds travel. Poison ivy flowers are inconspicuous and could not on their own attract the birds. In turn, the poison ivy keeps humans at a distance thus keeping the jewelweed safe and intact. It is win-win for the plants in question. Mind you, I have not found any research that has come up with an explanation for why these two plants live near each other. My own reasoning brings me ample satisfaction.

Okay, so ‘love’ might be too strong a word but there is definitely a detectable level of affection n’est pas? They seem to know how to thrive if they stay together. There are other examples of plants having mutually beneficial relationships. It was by studying such conditions that gave man the idea of companion planting. Case in point – the three ‘sisters’ of America. Corn grows well in sunshine but needs the ground weed free and mulched which is handsomely addressed by squash that contentedly scrambles all over the ground under the shade of the corn. Meanwhile, pole beans climb up the sturdy corn plants whilst fixing nitrogen in the soil.

Any natural woodland contains a vast assortment of plants. The upper-story and under-story specimens provide conditions that sustain each other. The same occurs in meadows and prairies. Together with the wildlife, there is more to be found growing together in nature than anything we could ever recreate on our own.

The point is, in nature, polyculture which is a more cerebral term for companion planting, is the norm. Diversity is key. It allows for a symbiotic relationship between plants, insects, wildlife, and ultimately our palates. Natural combinations of plants fend off pests and disease, make the best use of space, protects the soil, increase flower and fruit production and generally make a space more beautiful and interesting. This very same method works when applied in our own gardens. It works in vegetable, fruit and, flower gardens. In truth, we have yet to fully understand the entire science of how plants ‘know’ who their friends are and how to create the healthiest horticultural neighborhood.

For now, in my opinion, we know enough to extend that cooperative living to our own society. A little kindness and help, some closeness and yet enough space will be good for all. We’ll grow well, fend off enemies, celebrate differences, use our strengths, compensate for weaknesses, support each other and live in peace. Isn’t that what love is all about?

Happy Valentines Day everybody! May every day be filled with love.
Heart shaped stones
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(c) 2014 Shobha Vanchiswar

On Your Mark, Get Set …

Its February and we’ve just crossed the halfway mark through winter. Hurray! It has been a particularly brutal season and although it still feels like we’re in Antartica, spring will be here in some weeks. And when it does, we’re going to be ready. Right?

Okay, lets get organized. Gather your garden journal, laptop/tablet, paper and pen, garden photos from last year, seed and plant catalogs, the telephone and your drink of choice. Get cracking! Review, revise, make lists, draw plans, place orders, chart out schedules. Have a vision and act accordingly. Time spent planning and preparing is never a waste.

As I’d mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I’m planting a shadblow tree this spring. I will order it from my local nursery now so they can get it for me as early as possible. Likewise, all the plants I intend to get into the garden this year. I have the pressure of getting my garden ready for its Open Day (May 10)!Seeds will be started soon – vegetables and annuals. In addition to the usual seed flats started in the greenhouse, I’m going to try out the method suggested here: http://www.gardendesign.com/seed-sowing-snow
Go on, experiment along with me. Lets see what we learn.

Sorting through photos and notes, I’ll consider what worked and what did not. Successes and failures are great teachers. I’ll revise plans and see what improvements and additions are required. Each task will be prioritized and scheduled. This includes repairs and rearrangements. Tools will be sharpened, cleaned or replaced as necessary. Supplies such as stakes, ties, Epsom salts, dormant oil, fish and seaweed emulsion etc., will be restocked. The big calender will be filled with all the chores – daily, weekly, monthly etc., Vacation weeks will be factored in. As precise as all of this sounds, I always keep it flexible as weather and life have a way of messing up plans. After all, this exercise in preparation is meant to make gardening pleasurable. Lets keep it that way.

To help with tracking what needs to be done when, do refer to the Things To Do page on this website. Depending on your location and type of property and specific garden design, you can add or alter as per your needs. Whilst we go about gardening in relative solitude, there is a deep comfort in knowing one is part of a like-minded tribe of caretakers of this beautiful, generous Earth.

A friend sent me this link and I think it has great potential. Do check it out:
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/01/16/technology/personaltech/review-parrot-flower-power-plant-sensor.html
I’d love to get feedback from those who try this.

With so much to do, February will seem shorter than it is! Soon after that, the snowdrops will be awakening. Will you be ready?

Some good news: My photo of a milkweed seed pod opening to release seeds made it into the BBC ‘Your Pictures’! Check out link below. I’m very kicked! < http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/in-pictures-25942841 >

Garden journals and notebooks

Garden journals and notebooks

 

Ready to be transplanted!

Ready to be transplanted!

 

Root cuttings of hydrangea, myrtles and scented geraniums

Root cuttings of hydrangea, myrtles and scented geraniums

 

Making raised beds

Making raised beds

 

Popular gourd in India but exotic here!

Popular gourd in India but exotic here!

 

Patty-pans for the gourmet

Patty-pans for the gourmet

(c) 2014 Shobha Vanchiswar