All us gardeners know that a garden is never "finished". If you want a "finished" garden, you hire a garden designer who makes meticulous lovely drawings, plant lists, and hires a professional crew to "install" the "hardscape" and plant "materials". Us gardeners, as varied as the flora of the world, having many skills (or no skills at all), gaze out onto our territory (balcony, terrace, lawn, or country estate, and everything in between) and "envision" (some say conjure) what was, what is, and what could be. We suffer over vacant spots that need "something" or overgrown wonderfulness that has taken over some other treasure, perhaps planted in haste to beat the first frost, or simply because we miscalculated the "mature" width, or height, or the dwarf turned out to be a standard in disguise. As Jamaica Kincaid says, "What to do?". This is my joy and my pleasure each and every day as I step into Mon Paradis.
I make meticulous lists by season. Copious notes about cultural requirements. A whole sketchbook of possibilities. I have a library of astounding inspiration...from the Cloisters to Villandry, from Lloyd to Brookes to Ouldof. What I just added to the mix is a seven year old granddaughter who asked not too long ago, "Gramma, can I have my OWN garden?" What to do?
First, respond in the affirmative...and pretend that it is a brilliant idea that you'd never thought of. I want her to be totally in control of the idea, so that she is the owner of this project, even though I know that 99% of the time, labor and materials will be provided by Gramma. No worries. This also, is as it should be.
Next, cut a deal to include a plant or two that you haven't figured out where to place yet...in this case, specifically, the asparagus beds (she doesn't even like asparagus right now, so this will be tricky), and the Russian comfrey, guaranteed to run amok, but its oh-so-good for the compost pile.
Near the same time my kiddo asked me for a garden, I found out that her parents were conspiring to relocate to "the bay area" to enroll her in a fabulous school which will educate our little brilliant child superbly. There is nothing one can do under such logic but agree, support and give blessings. Being a grateful and happy soul at this stage in my life, as I diligently work the soil in my chosen space, I know I will be ok...but lordly, will I miss my little sous-gardener constantly. She was just learning the botanical names of a few perennials...and we had a great time last summer solving the world's problems, on our respective garden stools, with our respective favorite weeders (she knows how to dig out the crowns and taproots!). She is learning to make a hand-tied bouquet from her gleanings to take home to Mom. She's becoming quite the garden photographer, too. In her new much more urban and sophisticated environment, will she retain these lessons learned?
Thus, the Garden Project takes on even greater meaning. It is the tangible foundation for all the love and gramma memories and future visits I scheme to secure. My own Gramma certainly had her issues, but what I remember most, and what endears her so much to me, are vivid lessons in "grandmothering". I often think of these many things while interacting with my own grandchild.
We made a list. Her favorite vegetables (brussel sprouts, cucumbers, onions, carrots, peas) and her favorite flowers (foxglove, poppies, lavender, marigolds, butterfly weed, sunflowers and hollyhock). And a cherry tree. Somewhere in there, she thought it would be a good idea to plant the garden on her birthday...so that the plants would celebrate their birthday the same day as hers. Who, may I ask, could resist such logic?
When bare root fruit trees came into the nurseries, off we went, to pick just the right one. Gramma had done her research to select two or three varieties that promised to perform for us. Our local fruit tree gurus recommended 'Stella', 'Van' and a few others. I referred her to the tags on the trees, and the pictures. She read the descriptions and chose "juicy heart-shaped dark red fruit" ('Stella') over "large fruit, good flavor and prolific" (Van). Stella was planted with great fanfare before anything else was done.
Now the raised beds are in place. I was thrilled to find just what I wanted in materials..."pre-fertilized" 2x12 recycled barn boards...perfect for the u-shaped configuration I came up with. The beds will require a considerable amount of soil, so I ordered a unit of blended soil, heavy on the sandy loam, which I can amend with more compost as needed. The subsoil is heavy clay, quite wet all winter, so I'm concerned about drainage. I'l likely add extra gravel in the bottom of the beds before filling with soil. The materials and the labor arrive tomorrow. I'm excited to get from the planning to the planting.
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