Welcome to the Art of Growing Food newsletter. Each week, you’ll find artful growing tips, seasonal recipes, and fresh ideas for your kitchen garden. You are receiving this newsletter because you are a free or paid subscriber. Thank you! - Ellen Ecker Ogden
When the world wearies, and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden.” ~ Minnie Aumonier, British Artist and Poet 1865 - 1952
Hello Everyone.
After a big snowfall, I follow the same routine: fill up the bird feeders, take a few photos of the garden and then go skiing. That’s what I did this past week, and it was good to be on the trails again. But more than that, it was a way to get outside and immerse into the winter landscape – both my small yard and the larger woods beyond.
Gardening takes time, experience, and an eye for plant material, yet it also demands that we make changes to the landscape in search of a sanctuary to call our own. We all want that weed-free everblooming, overflowing harvest basket type of garden, yet in fact, it also takes recognizing that we are part of a bigger world beyond our individual plots of land. This starts by simply being outdoors, in summer and in winter.
Winter gives me permission to gaze at the feeding frenzy on the bird feeder, deeply inhale cold air after a snowstorm, and notice animal tracks that tell the story of a fox tracking a rabbit. These are all reminders that our landscapes nourish us, and that there is a bigger world full of activity that goes beyond property boundaries. It’s up to me to make sure it remains alive and vigorous, providing a range of natural habits for all living creatures, not just myself.
“Everything becomes simple when you immerse yourself in nature. We are losing what few wild places we have left: those patches where the spirits of the earth are flowing freely, where harmony and balance still exist, and we feel accepted for the truth of who we are.” -from The Garden Awakening book by Mary Reynolds.
According to ancient Celtic lore, ( as read in The Garden Awakening) before you dig into the ground or make any changes at all to the landscape it is best to knock two rocks together, speak to the earth, and state your intentions. Offer a humble prayer, then proceed with care and dignity. In that tradition, you are connecting with the existing landscape, to leave behind a long legacy. I do my best to remember this every time I step outside, or begin to think about planting. It all has to fit into the bigger scheme with the long term in mind.
The five-year plan for my landscape started by taking notes of what was already growing in my yard: there was an antique apple tree in the backyard and two overgrown heirloom lilacs on either side of the porch. That was about it.
Knowing nothing about garden design at first, I took day trips to visit gardens through the Garden Conservancy Open Days tours, returning home with lists of plants and design sketches in an attempt to organize my small pocket of green earth into equal parts that blend together naturally.
Rather than planting everything all at once, each year I add a new 10 foot section to the garden. It is a slow process, yet the result is a landscape that has developed over time, and continues to evolve.
It became my goal to teach myself how to design a kitchen garden at least partly to make it more inviting to be in the garden, yet mostly to think about how a garden could be more than a place to grow food. It’s now been twenty years, and I’ve learned that gardens and simply being outdoors can heighten my awareness on every level.
Allow the winter garden to become a place that taps into all your senses: inhale more deeply, look more closely, taste with appreciation, listen with curiosity, and remember to touch everything, even the snow.
Coming next week: my 80/20 rule and a sneak preview into what new seeds I’m growing in the kitchen garden. Wishing you good health, and a wonderful garden year.
Ellen O.
Ellen Ecker Ogden is a Vermont-based writer, educator, and garden designer. Her books and articles have been featured in numerous national magazines. More can be found at www.ellenogden.com or link-tree.