From Exhaustion to Exhilaration...

"When I go into the garden with a spade, and dig a bed, I feel such an exhilaration and health that I discover that I have been defrauding myself all this time in letting others do for me what I should have been doing with my own hands."  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

There is a limit that everyone reaches, and this weekend I hit that limit and wall. The stress of work, the busy pace of life and pushing myself to do it all – caught up with me and I started the weekend exhausted and with a migraine.

On Saturday, I woke with a headache, but still wanted to go out to lunch, so we went to the Boynton, which was amazing as always. It’s encouraging to walk into a local place where people are friendly and remember you and your favorite drink or meal and suggest things you will actually enjoy. After lunch we went to Wooberry for frozen yogurt. I had Lemon with fresh strawberries and little chocolate curls. Another favorite, and so delicious.

But after that, I felt sapped, like my strength was gone completely and I couldn’t do anything else. This being a long weekend, I knew I had to get some rest! We got home and took a 3 hour nap, and then went into the garden to water and look around. I spent a lot of time just walking from tree to tree and plant to plant and found some of what I needed was restored. This connection is crucial for me to keep sane. I had lived so long without gardening and now that it is such a big part of my life, I cannot imagine a day that I don’t walk in the garden.

As the weekend has passed, I am feeling calmer and healthier and I have enjoyed this time home to work on little projects and rest for the coming week.

2 weeks ago

Ready for companion plantings

We worked on the next step of our 4x8 bed with the Sunflowers and Corn. They had grown enough in just two weeks, that we added three squashes (butternut, zucchini, and pumpkin) and filled in the spaces with Mexican Dry Red Bean, an heirloom bean for storing.  We also replanted some Sunflowers because some of them are being eaten and we haven't been able to see what is snacking on them.

There is room behind the bed - and around it to either trellis the squashes or train them to the front yard - which is largely untouched right now and would be lovely full of squash plants and flowers.

It was so refreshing to sit on the back patio (after the shade returned) with a cold drink and just look at the green that has appeared over the past couple of weeks. The tree trunks are all thickening and the leaves are growing like crazy. The stars of the garden are the two beds of peas. The shelling peas are in the Hugelkultur bed and are doing great - the Snap peas are in a far bed and just started flowering this week - and have also grown to more than 4 feet tall.

Shelling peas

In the center of the garden, is the herb spiral, everything was planted by seed and had sprouted. Some are growing very quickly and others are taking their time, but all sprouted, and that was something new for me. I had never planted herbs from seed. I find this such a beautiful addition to the garden.

Fruit trees and vegetable beds in the back yard. 

Last Autumn, I planted Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes) in an unused side bed near our front steps and they are now more than 12 inches high...however, the bed had been taken over by weeds and grasses, so I did a little work today to make it more attractive and useful.  Because it is a fairly new bed, nothing was deep rooted, so I just pulled up the grass and other weeds that were making themselves useful until I did something with the space. I planted Nasturtium and Green Beans in around the Sunchokes and then covered everything again with straw. 

Sad little forgotten bed.

Something else had changed - the 50 gallon rain barrel in the back left corner of the picture is new this week,  and the hose will be on the inside of the fence, so I wanted to put a path in that would give me a sure place to walk when I need to water the plants.  Rob sliced up some of the Pine tree that my sister Kim gave to us and I made a small path in an area that nothing ever grows.  Also, one step into the middle so I can reach to water all the plants. I pulled out grass and weeds and planted Nasturtium along the little white (dog proofing) fence and hope to keep the weeds out by growing something beautiful and useful.

All in all, it is a huge improvement and just the beginning of our work with the front yard. We did get another 50 gallon rain barrel and put that near the 4x8 bed which is the center of the house and with the 65 gallon that we have been using (and using up quickly) in the back garden, we should have enough water for all of the beds. 

One of the nicest things about this weekend was that our neighbors were home celebrating Memorial Day in their yards, hanging out in their pools and it made it a pleasant weekend. Even though our houses are very close to each other, I don't mind. We have some really great people to live near. Chatting early in the morning with one neighbor - he asked if he could come in and see how things are going and it was fun to show him around and hear his story about being born in Italy and always having a garden - up until recently.

It made me happy that someone else could come and enjoy with us.

When you see how the yard used to look - it's really not surprising that we stayed inside and no one really stopped by.  It's been transformed and it is just the beginning! 

Signs of Life!

Last Autumn I planted flower bulbs and they have already come and gone. Beautiful Tulip, Crocus, and Daffodil flowers in Spring when everything else is so gray... 

I also planted the Sunchokes - or Jerusalem Artichokes - and had no idea what to expect. This week, pushing through the straw, the first signs that all is well in the Sunchoke bed and the experiment is off to a good start. Since this is the first time through with all of these plants, I am trying to document them to keep a record of how they look when they first sprout and also to recognize them should they start to sprout where we do not want them.

Sunchokes / Jerusalem Artichokes 

I squeeled like a little kid when I saw the Sunchokes were almost 6 inches tall! I only looked away for one day...

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We have two experiments in our potato beds. One with soil, straw and seed potatoes, and one bed with just the straw and seed potatoes.  Both have sprouted. The bed with soil is growing at a little faster pace, but who is in a hurry? Potatoes grown on the ground, covered in straw grow just as well so far.

Potatoes growing on cardboard with some soil and straw.

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The most recent bed is a 4x8 on the South side of the house. Space we never used for anything! Now it has sprouted corn and sunflowers. When they are 6 inches tall we will be planting beans and then 3 different squash plants to either vine out to the front yard or trellis - not decided yet. 

Bed with Sunflowers and Corn

Sunflowers Sprouting

Corn sprouting

The seeds took less than a week to sprout. It practically grows before your eyes!

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On April 12th, we planted our fruit trees - four different apples (semi-dwarf) and 3 pears (dwarf). In what is one of the most encouraging things to occur this week - the trees have leaves and one even has blossoms. We won't be letting them fruit this year, but knowing that they are growing and healthy and seeing those first flowers is a feeling that can only be described as having a full heart.  

Pear tree with a new little flower garden by the house.

Apple Blossom 

Two more Apples and a Pear nearest the shed.

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The view from the house.

Straw beds in the back left are potatoes - foreground (right) is dwarf pear.
To the left of the clothes line - are the apple trees and almond at the end of the  fallen tree.

During the past couple of weeks, it has rained quite a bit, and the river bed has been serving its purpose. We only have one rain barrel right now, and when it is full, it overflows into the riverbed - and flows on to the fruit trees. It's working well and we will be getting two more rain barrels to capture water on the other sides of the house to use in flower and vegetable beds there.

water gathers in the dry river bed and flows along the log to the center of the yard
and the fruit trees.

The past few months of work - bits and pieces here and there that suddenly seem to come together in this season and become a garden. More perennial plants will be arriving - Paw Paw Tree, Kiwi Vine, Concord Grapes, etc. etc. and there are more seeds to plant in the beds.  Each small thing that we start carries on by itself. Our part in this is observation and enjoyment. 

The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is go to the window and see what has changed. Mushrooms spring up over night and are gone when the sun hits them, the plants get greener and greener as leaves open and seeds sprout. 

One of my favorite moments was when I saw a little sparrow land on the branch of an Apple tree and sit there. Barely a branch, barely a tree - and already the bird knows to stop by for the caterpillars. It works because it is supposed to. The cycle has always existed and will long after we are gone. All we hope to do is restore the conditions for Nature to work her magic...

Life is truly miraculous. 

Nasturtium growing around the herb garden.

Planted Herb Spiral

On Tuesday I took a day off and planted the herb spiral with a variety of herbs and flowers. It is in the center of the kitchen garden beds to attract predators and beneficial insects, and I think it looks beautiful. The greater the variety of plants in an area, the more confused pests will be and the plants are less likely to be damaged.

Herb Spiral with a Hardy Mum on the top - this will be replaced with a planter of Peppermint for tea. Each of the white labels indicates a different herb or flower.

Planted: (from the lowest point and circling around) Chive, Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Cilantro, Chamomile Dill, Marigolds, Parsley, Thyme, Thai Basil, Basil, Sage, edible Nasturtium and Echinacea are planted at the 3 corners.  Peppermint will be the top planter and I am still deciding on a water container for the beginning of the spiral.


I also have several medicinal herbs and lavender to plant - but haven't decided where yet.


Our garden has many different purposes and right now we are focused on restoring the soil and creating the levels needed to sustain the ecosystem in our yard and provide a complete circle of growth,  compost/replenish the soil,  regrowth. If the conditions for growth are in place, plants will grow.  The beds will be annual vegetables and will need to be planted each year, but the bulk of the other fruit and nut trees, and plants that are arriving in May will be perennial. Once they are planted, and the plants that support them (green mulch) are growing, they will need only to be watched for pests and for pruning if they grow too quickly (only because of the size of our yard).  One of the other purposes of the garden is to have a natural place to sit and enjoy, so in each vegetable bed and around trees we have planted flowers and nitrogen fixing plants that will feed the trees and produce flowers and green mulch, as well as shading the ground and capturing moisture and keeping it close to the trees, vines, etc. Also - they will fill in the spaces with color and be beautiful. I have several pieces of decoration that I will be putting out into the garden for people to find and enjoy. Some I bought, some are gifts. These little touches are what makes it fun and whimsical.


The side effect of restoring the soil and creating an ecosystem and completing a full circle of the cycle of plant growth, is food. One of the things we have to accept with these projects is that the food may not happen this year. All of this is an experiment, so we focus on the soil and the correct conditions and pay attention to things, hoping that the food will follow at the end of the Summer, but this is truly a journey experience and not just for the food. 


One of the things we observed today is that it is very dry here right now and the insects and birds are looking for water. We watered the beds early and put water in a small cast iron bird bath. Right away, the fuzzy bumblebees were in the straw - getting out of the sun and getting the moisture, the hornets and other insects were landing on the straw and getting moisture.  The lack of rain will be one of the greatest challenges if it continues on this way.  
We have mulched and prepared as much as we can - we just need a rain to fill the rain barrel again. We will be getting two more rain barrels so we can gather rain for dry and hot times during the summer.  We do all of our watering by hand with watering cans. It is relaxing and keeps us in touch with each of the plants we are growing. 

The bulb flowers continue to grow and bloom in the front garden.