 Monarchs on Joe Pye Weed, September 2020 Photo by ERSwett It's true! If you plant it, they will come.  Raised beds, 2010. Photo by ERSwett At first, back in 2010, I loved straight lines & beds high enough to deter our new puppy. All I wanted was to grow lots of food as efficiently as possible.  2013 view looking south with rain barrel experiments in view. Photo by ERSwett By 2013, the compost had moved out; Three layers were too hot & dry; And a new north-south alignment just felt better.  2015 view into the garden with grapes finally taking off. Photo by ERSwett Over time, the ideas in Toby Hemenway's book Gaia's Garden, transformed my thinking, inviting experimentation with fewer paths, more curves & the integration of pollinator- friendly plants.  2016 experiments with mounding and soft edges. Photo by ERSwett My family thinks it's crazy to redesign the garden every few years as each one seems pretty cool, like this rounded mounded central axis filled with a mix of annual vegetables and perennials. But for me, these changes reveal how this garden was becoming more than just a space to grow vegetables. It was a safe place for me to connect with and explore the power of the earth herself, this thing called Gaia.  2018 abundance. It turns out, though, that I prefer bush beans. Photo by ERSwett By 2018, cucumbers emerged from beneath pole beans, borage invited pollinators, and there was hardly a need to water, as the composted and well-shaded soil sustained itself throughout the summer. I had finally created my own 'Gaia's Garden' paradise. So it seems strange that I would take it apart & essentially start over.  Garden redesign in progress, September 2018 Photo by ERSwett But that's just what I did, creating a circular space aligned with the quadrants of a compass and based on historic herb garden designs. I didn't know what this new space would be like...  Completed garden redesign, end of September 2018 Photo by ERSwett ...until I planted the echinacea and finally understood that gardening is not about how many peas I harvest. For me, it's about how I can heal myself so that together my garden and I can help heal the earth.  Abundance 2020 Photo by ERSwett Summer ReadingIn addition to re-reading Gaia's Garden, these others books have also captivated and inspired me this summer. It feels as if the earth is in all of our hands right now. Digging deeper is the only way to go.
Drew, Sarah Gaia Codex Hemenway, Toby Gaia's Garden Jewell, Jennifer The Earth in Her Hands Kincaid, Jamaica My Garden (Book): Penniman, Leah Farming While Black  Our 'new' front yard garden, August 2020 Photo by ERSwett Welcome. When I walk into our 'new' front yard, it's like magic. The granite pavers guide me past the front door and around to the back,  Our 'new' side garden, August 2020 Photo by ERSwett where pungent SummerSweet and cheerful purple Coneflower (echinacea) beckon. "Come," they say. "You are safe here."  Echinacea (Coneflower) Photo by ERSwett And I am. Bees frolick and I feel a warm embrace not just from the plants, but from all the people who guided me to this time and this place. It seems hard to believe that in the midst of a global crisis, I have found such joy in the garden.  Calvin lounging in the sun, early May 2020 Photo by ERSwett Just three months ago, Calvin and I sat in our front 'yard.' Still early in the COVID crisis, we were eager to be outside. For me, though, this space between our house & the road was not a calming place.  The front yard, early June 2020 Photo by ERSwett In fact, it was unsettling. Perhaps it was the abrupt contrast between the lawn & the trees or maybe it was the way the lawn just headed off into our neighbor's property, carrying my energy with it -- away.  A work in progress, June 2020 Photo by ERSwett But with my son ready to help, we gave new form to this part of our yard. By mid June there was a layer of healthy soil & mulch.  Gro-Low Sumac, Detail August 2020 Photo by ERSwett By mid July, I had planted the hillside with a cool mix of native plants, including Gro-low Sumac and Joe Pye Weed. In the process, I co-opted some more of the lawn, which really is just a nasty water hog that has no nutritional value.  Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum) August 2020 Photo by ERSwett The more I walked among this increasing variety of plants, the more grounded I felt in every way, not just because a formally neglected place was getting attention, but because it was coming to life - the winged creatures were showing up.  Scented Geranium, August 2020 Photo by ERSwett But even with this beauty, there was something missing. The more time I spent in this place, the more I realized that it had something to do with the flow of energy.  The original brick edging, July 2020 Photo by ERSwett From prior experiments, I realized that it was all about edging and the clear definition of boundaries. The bricks that had been in the front of the original bed for decades were not strong enough to contain the power of what this part of our land was becoming.  Granite pavers - getting started, late July 2020 Photo by ERSwett So, it was with great enthusiasm that during the last week in July, I carried one hundred pavers from a pallet at Gardener's Supply in Lebanon, NH into and out of the car, slowly laying them into the soil, and in the process, transforming this place.  The edging in place, August 2020 Photo by ERSwett Our initial design did not include edging material nor did it include this connection between the front and back yards. But this mix of stone and diverse plantings created an increasingly dynamic space.  The view on a cloudy day, edging and all, August 2020 Photo by ERSwett Power emerges when when there are natural connections among people, plants & place. Earlier today, I could almost hear the conversation between the two varieties of SummerSweet, one in the front and the other along the north side of the house.
It was as if Karen who introduced me to "Ruby Spice" in 2016 was actually talking with Kelsey, who, working off what we already had, integrated "Hummingbird" into the front design in 2018. Together, in 2020 they provide a mid-summer banquet.  First Monarch of the year in the Hummingbird Summersweet, August 2020 Photo by ERSwett I love how these various groundcovers, shrubs and trees embody the positive spirits of the many plants people throughout the Upper Valley who nurtured them so that someone like me could come along and use them to create a garden.  Various rocks, August 2020 Photo by ERSwett And now that garden comforts and inspires because of how a few small stones in various shapes and sizes can contain a mix of plants while also enabling life-giving energy to flow.  Our front garden, August 2020 Photo by ERSwett Local ResourcesAt one time or another, Kelsey & Karen worked at Henderson's Garden Center in White River Junction, VT. The Garden Center is run by Sylvia Provost, who always has amazing ideas and plants for any project.
Permaculture Solutions, LLC Karen Ganey shares her creative gifts through consultations, design and installation. Gardener's Supply, Lebanon, NH A friendly place to find native trees, shrubs, perennials and vegetable starts. E.C.Brown's Nursery, Thetford, VT A welcoming place to find native trees, shrubs and perennials. Ongoing inspiration from friends at the Hanover Garden Club and colleagues on the Sustaining Landscapes Committee in Hanover. |
Lyn Swett Miller
reframing the narrative, one day, one image at a time 
compost re-imagined
Let's ReFrame: By Degrees
A place where photographer Lyn Swett Miller considers wonder, joy and transformation in a complex world. Archive
September 2021
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