We all seek a bit of peace and quiet from time to time. The garden can be that place to sit quietly, watch ants, hum tunes we can't get out of our head, consider what to pick and cook for dinner, and to discover that nothing tastes as good as a tomato warm from the vine. What is it that makes this place feel so welcoming? What does it take to soothe your soul and quiet your mind? I've been giving that a lot of thought lately.
I have been here at Peace and Carrots Farm for 12 years. In that time, I've cleared trees and brush, planted an orchard, maintained a 2+ acre garden, added on to the underground house, built a solar greenhouse and on and on There was always a practical project happening to do with food, water, shelter and heat. I'm finally able to look around and think about pleasure and esthetics. I actually have time to sit quietly on a bench and admire beds of flowers. What a luxury! For years I put a few flowers at the ends of beds and grew Johnny jump-ups, calendulas, marigolds, and nasturtiums all edible flowers that can be added to mesclun, or salad greens. Now there are whole beds devoted to flowers, just for our pleasure, flowers to admire in the garden or in a vase.
Once basic needs are taken care of, the garden can become a refuge of thoughtfulness and tranquility. I love looking around as I weed, pondering new projects. My list includes twig furniture and a pair of authentic Adirondack chairs, a cedar trellis with a bench underneath, a campfire circle with cedar slab benches, a lean-to in the woods for camping out and hiding from the rain, a rock garden, a frog pond, and a space to play croquet.
For the kids I made a scarlet runner bean teepee, a garden maze of sunflowers, and we poke baby cucumbers into bottles and let them grow large. It never ceases to delight the most jaded teen. The littler kids find it way cool to scratch their names in pumpkins, then come back a couple months later to find their names large and permanent across the orange globe.
I have two books on backyards that I read over and over for inspiration. My favorite is In Your Own Backyard: How to Create and Enjoy Your Own Private Retreat written and illustrated by A. Cort Sinnes. ISBN 0-8362-7988-3. Chapters cover private possibilities, from vapor to paper and beyond, backyard building, planting the plan, "God is in the details", backyard celebrations, backyard games, backyard meals, backyard kids and backyard naturalist.
There is also a book titled: Making The Most of Your Own Backyard by Sunset Books, ISBN 0-376-03078-x Chapters in this book are Enjoying backyard life, Backyard classic projects, Gardening for your pleasure, and Building in your backyard. The pictures and projects can set you dreaming a good thing on a rainy day or while you swing in your hammock under the cooling leaves of a big tree.
This year I'm transforming an area too long neglected into an herb garden. I want to dry and freeze our own herbs for the year. Herbs are great as seasonings, salad ingredients, teas and as medicines.
My new favorite book is Backyard Herb Garden by Miranda Smith. ISBN 0-87596-761-1. She includes chapters on planning and preparing your herb garden, growing and caring for it, using and enjoying herbs, herbs for health and beauty, and an extensive herb directory from aloe to yarrow.
I don't think a garden is ever "finished" New plants come and go, the seasons change and weather happens. We dream of perfection in the resting moments and deal with the weeds and bugs in reality. Every year the garden is ours to shape and nurture. In turn, it will nurture us.
Write to Wendy Martin, PO Box 69, Calais, Vermont, 05648 or EMAIL wsm311@aol.com. If you would like to attend the 3rd annual Peace and Carrots Labor Day Weekend Homestead Party, visit our website www.homestead.com/peaceandcarrots or write to me for further details. The party is from Friday to Monday. Bring a tent to camp in, some food to share and a spirit of fun and curiosity. There are workshops all weekend, a pig roast, nightly campfires and tours of our underground house, the CSA and homestead gardens and other interesting sites. A donation of money is welcomed but not required. See you there! Vermont is a beautiful place. :-)
