Trauma and healing in the garden

Its been almost a month since I posted, as we have been dealing a family health crisis. Its now on the mend and the outcome has been very positive, but I haven't had time for anything else. I am now just surfacing so this will be a longer post then normal.
 When you have experienced trauma you need to find places to heal. For me my garden is a place of healing and wholeness. Just sitting under my huge Manitoba Maple in the backyard heals my somewhat battered soul and I feel its energy surrounding me. The simple actions of planting, watering, weeding and just watching are so restorative for me. The blue of the sky, the green of the leaves, the colours of the flowers and the life moving all around me, fills me with peace and badly needed tranquility. And peace and healing are what I need more then anything right now. Those of you who have experienced trauma understand how it disconnects you from the normal rhythms of life. You exist in the fight or flee mode and even something simple like sleeping is a challenge. So you need a place that reconnects you to yourself and the garden is that place for me.


One of the things I have been really pleased about is the number of pollinators that have shown up in the garden this year. Honey bees, native bees, bumble bees, wasps and the hummingbird have all been busy in my garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 


Its also clear to me that I really have created an eco system. This Sparrow hawk (that I originally thought was a Northern Goshawk), has been living all summer in the neighbourhood and has been hanging around my garden. Tough on the rabbits and chipmunks, but a welcome visitor to me. The other birds just flip out when he/she arrives. Grackles fill the maple trees and scream alarm, but the hawk just ignores them. The down side is that she views my bird feeder as an occasional buffet stop. But still, she is so beautiful.

 

This has also need the year of the hibiscus. While I have put a big emphasis on native plants in the backyard. I have this gorgeous hibiscus on the patio. it blooms and blooms and blooms, the most beautiful I ever had.

 

 

 

 

But what I just planted is this red perennial hibiscus. It over winters and blooms in July and August. I didn't know we had species like this, a lovely late summer surprise but a gorgeous flower, with a bold colour. I dug out some plants that never really worked in that space. Gardening is also about making choices and changing things when they are not working. Sort of like life.

 

 

The patio area, water fall, planters with flowers and herbs and my new hibiscus.

 

The front yard has also done well despite the drought. My hollyhocks  are my pride and joy this year. People have literally stopped on the street to look at them. Its not a flower that is often seen these days, but is a favourite of mine. The daisy's, cone flowers and lily's have all filled the front and I can see goldfinches landing on the cone flowers already looking for seeds.

 

 

 

 

Lastly the vegetables have started to come in, my brandywine tomatoes are growing nonstop and are so flavourful. Some of them I seeded indoors and there is great satisfaction is eating something you grew from seed. But I must admit that my vegetables have suffered the most from my absence. But I'm planning the fall crops now and will hope for a warm September.

I want to end this post with a personal plea. If you have a friend or family member who is experiencing trauma in any form there is only one thing they need: your presence. They don't need to be cheered up, they don't need to hear encouraging sayings or stories or to be told "its not that bad' or "it could be worse" or 'well its over now and the worse is behind you". That's just not helpful. All they need is someone to listen and just be there. Healing takes a long time, just being with the person, or sending a message that you are there for them and are with them is a gift whose importance you will never fully understand.
 As for me, I will sit under my tree and be healed by my garden, my family, my church and my friends.

Summer Heat, Rain Please

It's hot, I mean really , really hot. that steamy sticky type of day that tells you the summer is here. But it is dry,so,so dry, my lawn is brown and sounds like straw when I walk on it. The only green thing in it are the thistles. But on a happier note another thing that tells me this is summer is that the Asian and Day Lilies are in bloom, earlier then last year.
 But while I am migrating my garden to native plants, these are beautiful, with a rich perfume, but I don't see many bees around them.

 
 

On the other hand, my native plants are thriving in their new environment and I'm seeing lots of pollinators around them. Well, lets be totally honest, the sunny ones are doing great, the shade ones, not so much. The fault is mine as I planted a couple of them in a place that is more sun then shade and a few just gave up the ghost and passed on. But these  are more then making up for it!



Butterfly bush is full bloom



Blue Vervain



 

Black Eyed Susan

And everything else is coming into season, even the fall flowers like the Aster's are starting to come up. And the paw paw tress are getting well established, but I do fuss over them like a new parent.

 The time of creating and planting is over for now. These days its enjoying the show, revelling in the peace and sitting in the shade of my Manitoba Maple and just being for a time. My garden is place of healing for me. There is always something to do and every morning I go out and see something new. it is a place of wonder. When I was sitting underneath my tree I looked up and saw this mother and baby, just sitting quietly, a little miracle of life.

Oh and you may remember a few posts back I was singing the praises of Bobbex, a rabbit and deer repellent?

Look at this!

That's right its a hollyhock in bloom!!!!. Rabbits love hollyhocks and I haven't seen them bloom for a couple of years as they were eaten down to the roots. But I kept using this product and it works. I have gorgeous Hollyhocks, my favourite cottage garden flower. So try it for yourself, it is a titch pungent when first applied, buts it a perfume to me!

There are no words this week

Like all of you I have been horrified and saddened by the shootings in Orlando this week. On Sunday our church will celebrate Pride Week with a special service, that will include a time of mourning.
 In the midst of such horror I am putting up pictures of beauty from my garden in the hopes that it will soothe and calm our souls at this difficult time. There is still love and beauty in creation and in our world

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Peony in mourning
 

 

I've got PAWPAWS!!! Are you as excited as I am?

 

My Pawpaw trees arrived this week and I am literally vibrating with excitement. The Pawpaw is an indigenous fruit tree that was used by First Nations and early settlers and is pre-Columbian. But deforestation, urbanization and the arrival of apples, pears and peaches, pushed this plant to the margins and it is rare indeed to see them. Which is sad, as it is the largest fruit tree native to North America.
 I read about the Pawpaw in a book on permaculture called 'Paradise Lot' by Eric Toensmeier. Its about two guys who reclaim an abandoned lot in Massachusetts and turn it into a beautiful permaculture garden. They grew and harvested pawpaw and I was fascinated by this lost treasure of  the North Eastern USA  and Canada.

 

 

But lets be clear, a pawpaw is not a papaya .The one on the right is a papaya, its from the tropics. The pawpaw on the left, that looks like it should come from the tropics is from here. It's fruit tastes like a combination of a banana and a mango, with tropical overtones. One of the types I planted; the Susquehanna, has fruit that grows up to 1lb. And they not only taste delicious but are good for you!
 They are a unique plant. Look at the picture of their flowers, aren't they gorgeous?

 All purple and lovely looking. One problem however, they don't use bees to pollinate ( this is an ancient plant). But instead depend on flies and beetles to do the job. Which is why you plant them close together and the flowers perfume is that of slightly rotting meat. Will count on my peonies to counter them! But they recommend that you pollinate them yourself using an artists paint brush.
 The earliest European contact with this fruit goes back to 1541. An article called 'The Pawpaw, a Forgotten North American Fruit Tree' by José I. Hormaza (http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014-72-1-the-pawpaw-a-forgotten-north-american-fruit-tree.pdf) states that:
"The earliest written report of pawpaw was made in 1541 by a Portuguese officer who was a member of Spaniard Hernando de Soto’s expedition through the southeastern United States. He noted Native Americans growing and eating pawpaws in the Mississippi Valley region: “There is a fruit through all the country which groweth on a plant like Ligoacan , which the Indians do plant. The fruit is like unto Peares Riall [“pears royal”]; it has a very good smell, and an excellent taste” Apparently, the name pawpaw was given to the tree by the members of the de Soto expedition for the resemblance of the fruits to the tropical fruit papaya."
So there you have it.

This tree fits in well with what I am trying to build in the back 40. My native plants are thriving, (those that survived the predations of the rabbits), and I am trying to integrate a part of the garden so it reflects what grew here for centuries. I have one part of the garden filled with exotics, but the major part is more and more becoming a native plant sanctuary. Now they say that it will take two years for them to fruit. But given the wisteria miracle, I have hopes for next year! But until then, I will watch them carefully and before you know it, pawpaw smoothies for all!

planted and watered



There is one last benefit to having a pawpaw tree in your garden. Zebra Swallowtail butterfly's. This species is as much a specialist as the Monarch, but instead of milkweed, this creature lays it's eggs on the emerging leaves of a Pawpaw tree. That's it and that's all they will use (http://blueridgediscoveryproject.blogspot.ca/2011/08/connections-pawpaw-tree-and-zebra.html). So if you want to be incredibly butterfly friendly, plant milkweed and pawpaws and you will be blown away by butterfly's. The GTA is the northern edge of their range, so the more of us who plant these, the more Zebra Swallowtails we will see and their numbers will grow.

 

Zebra Swallowtail laying its egg on a Pawpaw leaf

 

 

But of course you want to know where you can find them so you can plant these amazing trees. There were none for sale in the Greater Toronto Area, so I ordered mine from Whiffletree Farm and Nursery (http://www.whiffletreefarmandnursery.ca/home.php. They are in Elora and were great to deal with and delivered them right to the door. You need two of different species for pollination, but they are happy to help and explain to you the wonders of the Pawpaw.

Of course I can't end this without sending you the link to the Pawpaw song! It is an Appalachian folk song. Enjoy and go plant Pawpaws.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QZmVTUzuXM

The Wisteria Miracle and other goings on in the garden

This is a picture of our blooming wisteria, which for me is the closest thing to a genuine garden miracle this year. Wendy, my spouse; aka 'the garden idea generator' (tgig for short :-) ) has long dreamed of having a wisteria growing up our chimney and showering us in blossoms. The one we planted years ago never bloomed and the trees grew up around it, covering it in shade. So this spring I bought a new one and was told by the nursery that we wouldn't see blossoms for many years. Then this just grew out and we have an actual blossom. Its just one , but its gorgeous and my spouse is so happy. We see it as a symbol of hope.

We are already harvesting in the garden. The rhubarb is being turned into muffins and a rhubarb crisp that as you can see lasted less than a day. The basil is already growing like mad and I made my first batch of pesto from it and this weekend I'll bake herb bread using all the fresh herbs in the garden.

 

This is such a great time of year, everything growing by leaps and bounds and the garden bursting with life. Of course that also means that the garden is prime territory for wild life and I have chipmunks as well as the squirrels and a baby rabbit who has evaded all my attempts to seal off the garden. However, I have found a product that thus far, has worked great at keeping the rabbits away from my hollyhocks and other tender plants. Its called Bobbex and I have found that it is actually effective. It doesn't wash off in the rain, lasts for weeks and I'm hopeful that I won't have to encase the plants in chicken wire to protect them this summer. Will let you know how it lasts over the next few weeks. But for now its two thumbs up and one unsolicited testimonial from me!

Next time I'll update you on the vegetable's and how the square foot gardening system in working out.
Anyone need Zucchini? Looks like it could be a banner year!

baby grapes, will need to save them from the critters and the birds

Karen Abrahams

 
Well its finally arrived, the May 24 weekend. After a cold spring we are finally getting warmth and the gardening season is now in full swing. But before you rush out to purchase your plants from the local mega store I want to suggest that you head out to beautiful Claremont Ontario to Native Plants Claremont (www.nativeplants.ca).
Karen Abrahams has been on the leading edge of reintroducing native plants into our gardens for the last ten years.
For Abrahams bringing native plants into your garden is about "loving Ontario, loving local fauna and having an appreciation for what we have right here." She started the business out of her kitchen on her 15 acre property in Claremont in 2006. Just this year she has made it a full time business and supplies organizations like the David Suzuki Foundation, The Toronto Regional Conservation Authority and the Town of Richmond Hill with badly needed Milk Weed.
Abrahams sees the increasing interest in native plants as part of a growing environmental movement and urges us to reassess our gardens. "We need to re examine what a beautiful garden is" she told me in an interview. "its not just tons of colours".

One of the green houses

Shade kit

As a gardener I want to contribute to the food web. These plants have evolved over thousands of years to coexist with the insects and other fauna found in our wild places. Plants and tree's imported from places like Asia, do not always provide food for the insects that are native to Ontario, which can mean not enough food for the birds that are already under stress. The question is do we want a  living integrated eco system in our garden, or a food desert for the birds who depend on these insects? 

 I bought the "Sunny Pollinator Butterfly kit and the Shade kit. Both are now in my garden and I am excited to see how they do over the next few years. I also bought two wood poppies, an endangered Ontario species that they are trying to propagate and get off the endangered list. If you go there, be aware that Google maps will mislead you due to the closure of Westney Rd for HWY 407 construction. I went north on Salem and then headed west and reconnected to Westney Rd. But don't let that deter you, its worth the drive to Claremont!

 

 

 

 

 

Sunny pollinator butterfly kit