Mindful Gardening, Bugs are Your Friends...

Summer is the season we all wait for, especially in the state of Maine. In October of 2008 we moved into our home in Topsham Maine. Unfortunately the gardens had been managed chemically. This was a very quiet property, during our first garden season of 2009 . Very few birds or butterflies graced the landscape. On our property we have adopted a policy of "All living things matter." I believe it is important to welcome Birds as they will eat alot of the bugs. Spiders not only bring good fortune (they say) but also take care of many flying insects who get caught up in their webs and later become a meal for those web spinning spiders. We planted liberal amounts of Bee Balm, Echenecia, Cleome, Cosmos, Joe Pye Weed and Day Lillies as well as Apple Trees and Blueberry Bushes to encourage and attract all of our winged friends. We let the formally mowed lawns go wild and cut paths that now meander through these meadow gardens. We now sport an Upper Meadow and a lower Woodland Meadow.
Today I would like to talk a bit about the upper meadow garden. It has a wide range of Grasses (5 varieties), Clover, Equisetum, Millet and Wheat. Within the meadows we have walking paths and a scattering of blooming Rudibeckia, Verbena Borenesis, Cosmos, Bronze Fennel, Milk Weed and a few Artichoke plants. Full sun, organic amendments and periodic big rains have brought this part of the garden to an officially ALIVE status. Birds, Butterflies, Bees, Spiders, Moths and other various flying and crawling creatures show up and add to the beauty of this now thriving, organically managed Meadow. We feed with Bone and Blood Meal and Seaweed Compost and wowza the difference is palpable from that first "Silent Spring" of 2009.
Gardening can seem like a mystery but if you listen to the lay of the land, the light & topography, the mystery will reveal itself, with many of your questions answered, by sheer observation. I think that if you pay special attention to the individual plants that make up the whole garden you will not only be successful you will be blessed with a garden that is a natural living oasis. The circle of life in the garden starts with the microbes in the soil. Organic amendments and proper watering will not only change your PH to a higher thriving level but will support plants that are so healthy they do not attract bugs or disease. All bugs in balance are a good thing, after all we live in the natural world. Living in harmony is the easy, breezy approach and certainly less stressful for you and your garden. Ants, Aphids, Caterpillars, Beetles are commonly thought of as pests. However in balance with all other living things in the garden they take care of each other and you will have to give up very little of your flowers and vegetables to the cause of a chemical free landscape.
Mindful Gardening is in the long run, the easy way.
If you would like to view Organic Gardens I have designed, click here for the portfolio.
Some of my organic sources you may want to check out.
The Invisible Gardener. Andy Lopez is a brilliant gardener with harmonious ideas and approaches to living as one with our gardens. Do not be put off by his presentation, the information is garden gold.
Remineralize The Earth. Joanna Campe is a champion of adding "Rock Dust" to the earth by enriching our soil with minerals. Easy, inexpensive and terrific for the health of your property.
She is doing great work all over the world.
Rodales, As the publishers of Organic Gardening Magazine they are the old time experts. Their breadth of knowledge and online resources that are unmatched. Rodale Publishing is in the business of selling the idea of living in absolute harmony with the earth.
You can also google "Organic Gardening" and surf around to find natural methods to follow in your garden.

Building a Garden...

This is the time of year I wistfully contemplate the garden. What area will I choose to tackle this year? Do I need to think about paths, patios, walls, sitting areas or am I just going to enjoy a field of Sunflowers, perhaps. The possibilities are endless. I always study the area that is about to be transformed. I like doing the work one time! I carefully consider the end use and ask myself the following questions. Will the area be used for entertaining or is it a quiet spot on the north side of the house that is only viewed from a window? Possibly it is an area that would make a perfect kitchen garden later to be filled to full with Herbs, Vegetables, maybe a focal point of a henhouse for fresh eggs and other treats to be incorporated into Summertime meals. Maybe this is the year a pool or water source is seriously considered and will be integrated into a meditation garden or a main family area. In the end it boils down to several factors.
1. How the space will be used.
2. How much future maintenance will be required.
3. Money. Money. Affordability.
That about covers the basic three considerations, after the big three there are other points to be thought of.
1. Resale, will you be in this space long enough to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
2. Are your ideas practical and compatible to the needs of your family and the pets in your household?
3. Will you use the space as much as you anticipate?
Having taken our garden dream and put a pragmatic yet logical spin on the conversation can be sobering (reality, hmmm.) However this particular way of looking at your outdoor spaces can also be enlightening. You will be fully aware of the garden path you are traveling down and will not be surprised at the outcome.
Enjoying your own garden with your family and friends is a wonderful connecting experience and once you start, you will only want to expand your outdoor living spaces.
The spirit of balance lives within each of us, a garden heightens that sense of well being.

Build a garden it is a worthwhile experience.

The Aesthetic Lifestyle, Beauty Matters...

The definition of Aesthetics: A guiding principle in matters of artistic beauty and taste; artistic sensibility: or an underlying principle, a set of principles, or a view often manifested by outward appearances or style of behavior.
I like to think that I am a citizen of the "Country of Aesthetics". Yes, my belief from a young age has been, "Beauty Matters". Indeed, an aesthetic life is made up of deliberate choices that are made everyday. The designer and guru of the Arts & Crafts movement, William Morris says, "Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." I live and design by these simple, brilliant words. This is such a precise statement that it could be the motto for the "Country of Aesthetics".

The question is how to embrace this philosophy of Aesthetic as a lifestyle. The answer although simple takes discipline.
1. Do not bring anything into your Home or Garden environment that you do not LOVE. Anything!
2. Explore and understand what colors, styles and textures you are attracted to.
3. A great way to ascertain your own personal style is make a list of your favorite colors. Take a trip to to your local bookstore and purchase (yes purchase) a pile of Home and Garden design magazines. Now here is the deal, as you flip through these magazines, tear out (you can do it) the pages that have images that appeal to how you would like your house to look, in general.
4. At this point you should be aware of your likes and dislikes. Now the fun part. Go through your home and remove, remove, remove all of the items that you now know in your newly conscious and aware heart that do not honor the Country of Aesthetic philosophies and principles.
5. Congratulate yourself, you have just finished the absolute hardest step, letting go of stuff that does not matter, is no longer useful or is not beautiful. MMMMMMM feels good.
6. I keep myself on track by not settling for something, but waiting until I can afford or find exactly what it is I see in a room or in my personal space, indoors and in the garden.
7. Repeat, Beauty Matters. Because it truly does.