Healing in the Garden

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

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Summer Reading

In 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