A Late Spring ‘22 Garden Update
I’ve been a busy bee this spring. So busy, in fact, that I’ve hardly had enough will at the end of my days to sit down and write, let alone share my world with folks beyond my borders. The buzzing energy of the season has called me more into visceral work than intellectual composition. If you haven’t already guessed, physical work is one of my primary mediums to process thoughts and feelings. This season has been a challenging one for me, filled with grief from the world and obstacle after obstacle in my work. I’ve often found myself at a loss for words and for hope, frustrated, demoralized, discouraged, and a bit lost at times. Most days the only way I’ve made it through is by rooting into those little morsels of life that offer peace, stillness and joy - my garden, my family, the life we’re building, and the creatures that shares this space with me.
As this season of rising and restless energy matures into the bright season of vitality, I’m here with an update. Despite the hardships, there is still an abundance of beauty and good things that grow. If there’s anything I’ve learned or been reminded of this season it’s that things breakdown, and other things come together. Rarely do we have control over the “what” and “when” of this phenomenon, so there’s no use in holding on too tightly. This is the way of life - the life/death/life cycle manifested. I’m reminded that the magic and the purpose of it all is to embrace the fullness of this existence, both the death and the life. The breakdown and the growth. We cannot have one without the other. And through this unending universal cycle we are made whole - we are one. As I work to rewild this land, and myself continuously, I must hold this philosophy close. I must allow all of it to exist within the landscape of my heart and my land.
A New Beehive
They arrived on a cool spring morn before the blades of grass could shake dawn’s dew. The keeper donned his suit and smoker to keep the nuc calm during the transfer but they were so docile the protection was surely overkill. From a few feet away I watched and listened, amused as a few outliers introduced themselves and crawled among the hairs on my arms. I could hear the hive’s hum of curiosity as they followed the queen's cell into their new home. Sweet and wild the bees have come, ready to join me in this endeavor of making this land our home. We’re here to tend to their needs, but I’ve got a strong suspicion that they’ll tend to mine as well.
I chose to paint my symbol of the moon and leaf that represents the cycles and seasonality of nature. It’s a beautiful reminder of where all our roots lie - in the endless life/death/life cycle of the earth. I think it’s fitting that the bees will see this symbol too, after a long day of foraging, and know that they are home.
These bees are an Italian honey bee, small and light colored. They’re sweet and friendly. Each morning I step outside, cup of coffee in hand, and walk to the hive while my four-legged house mates follow. We each take a peek through the front door of the hive and wish the bees a good day before going about our business respectively.
The Workshop Renovation
The last few months my husband and I have been renovating the rundown workshop. Like everything else on this land, it’d been neglected for years. A rotten roof, pest infested walls, and horrendously orange paint, we had our work cut out for us. Rob re-roofed the shop and replaced the ceiling. We decontaminated the walls, addressed the pest problems and removed much of the cluttering shelves. After a few coats of paint and a lot of cleaning, it’s a spacious workshop for Rob. Unfortunately, my computer broke down and I lost all the “before” photos of the project. This was a big project that was really challenging for us - for the record, I’d much rather stick with yard projects!
Between coats of paint in the shop, we planted our northern border with a privacy screen wall in the making. We planted 12 green giant arborvatea trees that already make our landscape feel more safe and private. Read all about this project here.
Kitchen Garden
I’ve planted the kitchen garden with loads of perennial fruits and herbs as well as annual veggies and flowers. I’m growing: strawberries, artichoke, sweet corn, pumpkin, peas, green beans, pickling cucumbers, beets, carrots, broccoli, kale, red cabbage, celery, garlic, red onion, yellow onion, white onion, cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, jalapeno, red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, orange bell peppers, anaheim peppers, raspberries, blackberries, lavender, thyme, oregano, mint, lemon balm, bee balm, chamomile, hyssop, clary sage, garden sage, rosemary, comfrey, feverfew, parsley, chives, curry, and fennel.
Most of the tiny seedlings you see are either flowers and veggies planted by seed, buckwheat, or clover. The buckwheat sprouting from last season, along with the clover are cover crops. They’re legumes, so they are fixing the nitrogen in soil which means they’re essentially a living fertilizer. They’re also crowding out actual weeds, and preventing soil erosion when I flood irrigate. When they bloom they’ll also attract and support pollinators. It’s an ideal scenario for both me and the bees.
Wildflower Meadow
The meadow is growing in nicely. It has grown enough that I can visibly see patchy spots - meaning some areas are growing in thick, while other areas are sparse. Like most young things that grow, I think we’ve entered the stage of awkwardness in the meadow. It’s still young and trying root itself securely in the world. It’s a bit lanky and unbalanced, much like the limbs and voices of an adolescent coming of age. In time it will mature and fill out, but I’m appreciating this moment for what it is. I’ve purchased more seeds to re-seed those patchy locations. I’ve been watering the meadow everyday, sometimes multiple times a day to keep it moist during hot, dry, and windy days. We’re already seeing our first blooms of bachelor buttons, and soon enough the poppies will explode too. I can also see yarrow and daisy taking root as well many other unidentifiable plants. I’m pleased to see that weeds are not growing through the multiple layers of cardboard. If I can get those patchy spots to germinate and get established before July (when the extensively dry heat begins) then I’m confident this meadow will be a major success.
Orchard
In early spring I came across grafted fruit trees that each had 4 different varieties grafted onto the trunk. I couldn’t resist the temptation! So I replaced my young apple and cherry tree with these specialty grafted trees. My new apple tree will grow gala, granny smith, honeycrisp, and red delicious apples. My new cherry tree will grow tartian, bing, stella and sweet red cherries. In addition to having a larger variety of fruit, they will ripen at different times in the season which will prolong my harvest. Both cherry and apple are not self-pollinating, meaning they need a different tree of the same species within a 100ft in order for the pollen transferred (via pollinators) to actually fertilize the blossoms. Having multiple varieties of apple or cherry on the same tree means that they can be cross pollinated, negating the need for a whole other tree. My crap apple tree also helps to cross pollinate my apple tree. Elsewhere in the orchard I planted a peach tree (not multi-grafted). In addition to my neighbor’s apricot tree that hangs into my yard, the selection of fruit I’ll harvest in the coming years is going to be wonderful!
Greenhouse
You may have noticed a strange shaped cement pad in my backyard just off our patio. It’s awkwardness has perplexed me too, so I placed the beehive there because I didn’t know what else to do with the space for the time being. Ever since we moved in I’ve always imagined a greenhouse sitting comfortably in this location. Because it’s been outside our means to acquire one I moved this dream to the back burner while I focused on other projects.
Last week while I was weeding the kitchen garden at twilight my neighbor came over and asked if I wanted a greenhouse. As a handyman, he was hired by a wealthy client to deconstruct this greenhouse and take it to the dump. It was only a year old and in excellent condition so he didn’t feel right about dumping it. In his generosity, he offered it to me for a nominal fee to set it up. As it happens, the greenhouse measurements perfectly fit my awkward cement pad, 12 ft X 8 ft. After looking at the quality of materials and evaluating the cost it was a no-brainer. This greenhouse took 3 ½ days to assemble and it’s sturdy as hell. Rated high for wind, sun, rain, and harsh snowy conditions it’s commercial grade quality. I cannot wait to utilize this space to start seeds, grow citrus, and relax in my own little secret garden.
