I'm reading a book called "Dear Mr Jefferson" by Laura Simon. She imagines a correspondence with Thomas Jefferson about gardening. Although the letters only go one way (from Simon to Jefferson) I feel a connection, as the author does, between me and that earlier gardener. In one chapter she discusses the maps she makes of her planned garden and compares them to the ones that exist of the gardens at Monticello. I find myself exclaiming 'I do that too'. Then I discover that the three of us make maps and then change things around by the time we plant the garden. It feels as if all three of us are sitting around a dining room table, or perhaps being shown round the kitchen gardens at Monticello, comparing notes. I much prefer my history in this context. I know world shaking events are happening in the US but Thomas Jefferson finds his garden worthy of constant attention. I like to think that he could find relaxation and escape from the world's problems by digging, planning, harvesting and watching the seasons go by, I know it works for me.
How strange to be able to feel I can communicate with a man who lived two hundred years ago and feel that I could understand his, dare I call it an obsession with gardening. I do this through a third party, the author Laura Simons. It puts gardening in a different context, a historical continuum, an access to knowledge by a man known for his ability to view any problem through a unique and well thought out personal point of view. I come away from this book feeling as if I'm part of a stream of knowledge, of experience that can always speak to people, past present and future. For some reason that I'm not able to identify I find that a very comforting thought.
As I sit here watching my garden through a haze of allergies, longing to be out there but only too aware of the effects, I read every garden book I can lay my hands on. Another book that I read recently is "Water-Wise Gardening" by Thomas Christopher. The author has spent time in Austin as well as San Diego and several other locations. My favorite section is the gardener in San Diego who lives in his garden. He has a garden shower, he cooks in his garden and sleeps there. He has one room with a roof and walls which contains his books and computer, otherwise all activities take place in the garden. I love to muse on this idea knowing that I'll never be able to do it in Austin's brutal summers, savage downpours and myriads of biting bugs, but I can dream and isn't that what gardening mostly consists of?
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
No Pictures Just Words
I went on the Travis County Master Gardeners tour "Inside Austin" yesterday. It was one of the best I've been on (not that I've been on so many). I think the theme, sustainability, was what made it for me. The gardens were as always phenomenal, but I was really blown away by the Stocker garden. I'm not including any photos because it is really hard to do any of them justice. The best I can do is write down my impressions.
For the Stocker garden imagine a meander around the edge of a house that constantly surprises you. First the surfaces you walk on are composed of gravel and limestone slabs, so that it's a bit like stepping stones across a stream. Then when you look up you see a constantly changing view. There is no front or back of the house, there is a front door and patio seating areas but they seamlessly flow into one another. One area was mostly but not entirely home to cacti. It was a bank in bright afternoon sun backed by Junipers (or cedars for the Texans amongst you), the sun cast sharp shadows on the various shapes of the plants. There were some exquisite stacked drystone walls, done by the owners. Doors and walls divided up the spaces but never seemed too intrusive, the garden flowed in a natural way. The use of native plants was extremely effective but I was glad that the owners didn't limit themselves only to native plants. There was a beautiful blooming Mock Orange (Philadelphus virginalis 'Natchez') around one corner that was spectacular in the afternoon shade, the white flowers shining in the shadows. I also noticed a Verbena bonariensis in one bed whose leggy stems topped by a cluster of purple blooms made a sculputural feature through which to view that portion of the garden. There were too many plants to enumerate, but amongst them were Blackfoot Daisy, Winecup, Missouri Primrose, various salvias, Purple and Pink Skullcap, Purple Cone Flower, Yarrow to name just a few. What an absolutely amazing garden.
It was a unique space and you could feel the gardeners' hand on all of it. One of the reasons I like the TCMG tours is that every space is created by a gardener and that brings a richness and originality that more professionally landscaped gardens lack.
There were several gardeners who managed to grow the most interesting fruiting trees. Two gardens had olives in them and they looked beautiful with their grey foliage. The Gani's Garden had three apple trees, a fig, two peaches, a grapefruit, a grape vine, a Fuyu persimmon, blackberry, kumquat, and a loquat. All this plus vegetables, flowers and two 1500 gallon rainwater storage tanks in a small backyard, not much more than 20'X 40'. There was a small patch of lawn in the front but no grass in the back. The Stockton's had no grass, except ornamental and used hardscape for open spaces.
The Bakatsa garden had a small patch of grass in front and a backyard crammed with a huge variety of plants and a large compost pile. The fruit trees were: a huge grapefruit tree in the front yard; in the backyard three peach trees, two pomegranites (edible kind), two plums, two figs four olives and eleven citrus bushes. This plus a multitude of vegetables and flowers. If there's one thing I noticed common to all the gardens it was how close the plants were to each other. I asked each gardener how they amended their soil and while they had amended they had not:1) brought in new soil to replace existing soil, 2) brought in substantial amounts of amendments. It seemed that rarely had the amendments been more than a half inch layer on top of existing soil. They all had compost heaps which they used constantly.
Its going to take a while to absorb all this information and translate it to my own garden. But I feel much more confident about trying fruit trees in my yard. I think my main problem is going to be squirrels raiding the crops but presumably squirrels, even Rosedale squirrels, aren't big fans of olives.
For the Stocker garden imagine a meander around the edge of a house that constantly surprises you. First the surfaces you walk on are composed of gravel and limestone slabs, so that it's a bit like stepping stones across a stream. Then when you look up you see a constantly changing view. There is no front or back of the house, there is a front door and patio seating areas but they seamlessly flow into one another. One area was mostly but not entirely home to cacti. It was a bank in bright afternoon sun backed by Junipers (or cedars for the Texans amongst you), the sun cast sharp shadows on the various shapes of the plants. There were some exquisite stacked drystone walls, done by the owners. Doors and walls divided up the spaces but never seemed too intrusive, the garden flowed in a natural way. The use of native plants was extremely effective but I was glad that the owners didn't limit themselves only to native plants. There was a beautiful blooming Mock Orange (Philadelphus virginalis 'Natchez') around one corner that was spectacular in the afternoon shade, the white flowers shining in the shadows. I also noticed a Verbena bonariensis in one bed whose leggy stems topped by a cluster of purple blooms made a sculputural feature through which to view that portion of the garden. There were too many plants to enumerate, but amongst them were Blackfoot Daisy, Winecup, Missouri Primrose, various salvias, Purple and Pink Skullcap, Purple Cone Flower, Yarrow to name just a few. What an absolutely amazing garden.
It was a unique space and you could feel the gardeners' hand on all of it. One of the reasons I like the TCMG tours is that every space is created by a gardener and that brings a richness and originality that more professionally landscaped gardens lack.
There were several gardeners who managed to grow the most interesting fruiting trees. Two gardens had olives in them and they looked beautiful with their grey foliage. The Gani's Garden had three apple trees, a fig, two peaches, a grapefruit, a grape vine, a Fuyu persimmon, blackberry, kumquat, and a loquat. All this plus vegetables, flowers and two 1500 gallon rainwater storage tanks in a small backyard, not much more than 20'X 40'. There was a small patch of lawn in the front but no grass in the back. The Stockton's had no grass, except ornamental and used hardscape for open spaces.
The Bakatsa garden had a small patch of grass in front and a backyard crammed with a huge variety of plants and a large compost pile. The fruit trees were: a huge grapefruit tree in the front yard; in the backyard three peach trees, two pomegranites (edible kind), two plums, two figs four olives and eleven citrus bushes. This plus a multitude of vegetables and flowers. If there's one thing I noticed common to all the gardens it was how close the plants were to each other. I asked each gardener how they amended their soil and while they had amended they had not:1) brought in new soil to replace existing soil, 2) brought in substantial amounts of amendments. It seemed that rarely had the amendments been more than a half inch layer on top of existing soil. They all had compost heaps which they used constantly.
Its going to take a while to absorb all this information and translate it to my own garden. But I feel much more confident about trying fruit trees in my yard. I think my main problem is going to be squirrels raiding the crops but presumably squirrels, even Rosedale squirrels, aren't big fans of olives.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Spring coming and going
This is where my garden is now. The snapdragons that I purchased last fall have finally sprung into bloom. I like to leave casual elements in my garden as well as the more organized plantings. The coriander is extremely casual popping up where it feels like it. I let it seed every year because I like the frond-like foliage and the delicate white flowers. It compliments the more rigid structure of the snapdragon and adds life as it waves in the breeze, (at least to my eyes). This is my purple/white/gray garden although I find it very hard to stick to the theme. So there are some almost blues, some pretty obvious pinks and lots of shades in between. But yellows and obvious reds (except for berries) are out and I can stick to that.
This is a clump of dianthuses? (what is the plural of dianthus?). The pink is a shocking pink and the flower has bloomed for months. It's in the multi-colored garden and I have reservations about it but it is a really sturdy plant and seems to take whatever comes it's way climatically. That is worth a lot in Texas in my present state of partial local horticultural knowledge. So it will stay for the time being. Once I get the garden more established I hope it will get toned down by other plants around it.
This dianthus is in the white/purple/grey garden because it has lovely grey foliage. It's one I picked up in the big box stores when I first moved here, and has proved indestructible so far. It is gradually getting crowded by other larger plants so I will probably move at least some of it next fall. It just steadily keeps getting bigger year by year and tolerates whatever comes its way. I could with slight exaggeration say that it was this plant that gave me the desire to continue trying to garden here. This is so unlike any other environments that I have gardened in that I was beginning to despair in the possibility of ever getting a garden to grow.
These Betilla are over now but as you can see they did bloom. This is their second year and they seem to be doing well. I first saw them at Mayfield Gardens and loved them but my first try didn't work out. A series of accidents befell them and the position was a little too dark so they eventually gave up the ghost. I found another plant at Lowes, much to my amazement, and it has done well. I hope it continues to spread until it can make a more visible clump in the garden.
Waiting for plants to get larger reminds me of how time is an important quality in the garden. It seems gardeners need to be able to patiently wait and allow the plants to do their thing but they also need to understand when a plant needs emergency water, what stage of wilting demands a response. We go from watching and waiting to resuscitation as an immediate response. Time seems to slow down to an almost imperceptible pace or speed up as a flower unfolds and blooms. Then there are the different plant times, the annuals, the biennials and the perennials all of whom operate on a different time scale. The seasons also mark time with differing plant behaviors. It's a miracle that it all comes together (at least sometimes) and seems to perform fairly regularly.
This is a clump of dianthuses? (what is the plural of dianthus?). The pink is a shocking pink and the flower has bloomed for months. It's in the multi-colored garden and I have reservations about it but it is a really sturdy plant and seems to take whatever comes it's way climatically. That is worth a lot in Texas in my present state of partial local horticultural knowledge. So it will stay for the time being. Once I get the garden more established I hope it will get toned down by other plants around it.
This dianthus is in the white/purple/grey garden because it has lovely grey foliage. It's one I picked up in the big box stores when I first moved here, and has proved indestructible so far. It is gradually getting crowded by other larger plants so I will probably move at least some of it next fall. It just steadily keeps getting bigger year by year and tolerates whatever comes its way. I could with slight exaggeration say that it was this plant that gave me the desire to continue trying to garden here. This is so unlike any other environments that I have gardened in that I was beginning to despair in the possibility of ever getting a garden to grow. 
These Betilla are over now but as you can see they did bloom. This is their second year and they seem to be doing well. I first saw them at Mayfield Gardens and loved them but my first try didn't work out. A series of accidents befell them and the position was a little too dark so they eventually gave up the ghost. I found another plant at Lowes, much to my amazement, and it has done well. I hope it continues to spread until it can make a more visible clump in the garden.
Waiting for plants to get larger reminds me of how time is an important quality in the garden. It seems gardeners need to be able to patiently wait and allow the plants to do their thing but they also need to understand when a plant needs emergency water, what stage of wilting demands a response. We go from watching and waiting to resuscitation as an immediate response. Time seems to slow down to an almost imperceptible pace or speed up as a flower unfolds and blooms. Then there are the different plant times, the annuals, the biennials and the perennials all of whom operate on a different time scale. The seasons also mark time with differing plant behaviors. It's a miracle that it all comes together (at least sometimes) and seems to perform fairly regularly.
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