Joy.
That's the only word that I can use to describe my feelings working in the garden yesterday. The sun was shining, I was moving dirt into my raised beds, planting potatoes and getting the garden ready for the explosion of growth that is about to happen. I just felt sheer joy. This is my favourite time of year, the days are long, everything is greening up and winter has finally and reluctantly left.
Dave my garden guy has been by and taken out some stumps and sadly two old shrub roses that had been beautiful and abundant for years, but had died back to dead wood. But now I have more room, "want to plant, what to plant?". Wendy, the ideas person for some of the garden wants a wisteria planted beside the chimney. When the story of Jack and the beanstalk was written I'm sure the beanstalk was in fact a wisteria. They grow and climb and are fierce in their hunt for the sun. Mmm, I have to think this through.
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Raised beds, potatoes planted
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But a cautionary tale, for all you with raised vegetable beds, this picture below is actually a rabbit nest, with three small rabbits who dug under my raised beds. Once they leave the nest we will dig down and put the chicken wire a foot down around each bed. Arrgh. But as my garden guy told me today. "if you have a healthy eco system, you will get nature in it". As that's exactly what I wanted I guess I can't complain too loudly.
One of the conclusions I have come to over the years is the belief that gardens need to have a purpose. While the beauty of a garden is in one sense a purpose of its own, I also think that we need to consider the role it can play in the ecology of the community where it exists. There has been huge and terrific publicity about monarch butterflys and I'm planting more swamp milkweed. But, we need more conversation about all pollinators and the species we plant to support them. I think its not simply about not using pesticides and herbicides in our garden, but asking questions about the species we plant and the role they can play to support both pollinators and birds and other wild life. As we approach Earth Day, each of us can play a positive role on the environment around us. Native plant species can be reintroduced to support the insects that have been here for hundreds of years. I have placed orders at Native Plants in Claremont ON
www.nativeplants.ca. More on them when I get my plants in early May. But check them out, they are a great resource. I have had a new bed dug today and here is a picture of my seedlings that will be going there in a few weeks time. Enjoy the spring!
