Foliage first.
Spring for many people means the exuberant blooms of daffodils, tulips and crocus. As much as I love these flowery spring harbingers, I am a bigger fan of the subtle foliage players in my garden. The ajuga with its dark pinks and purples can rival any tulip.
The screaming neon leaves of Spiraea ‘Candy Corn’ can stop traffic as well as any drift of daffodils.
The euphorbia, hellebore leaves and heuchera are as beautiful as any flowering bulb. Best of all these foliage stars will still be looking good a month from now, whereas the daffodil foliage will be browning and driving me crazy.
Is Your Garden Alive?
I love sitting in my garden. It’s my happy place. I enjoy a cup of coffee or glass of wine and I observe. The chickadees and titmice scold each other in the birdbath. The chipmunks play hide and seek under the hosta leaves. The hummingbird hovers just out of reach as he sips nectar from the Spanish flag vine that rambles over the arbor. My bees line up along the moss on the stepping stones to drink. Up the hill I hear the pileated woodpecker no doubt working on the dead tree. Occasionally a snake will slither by (which has taught me the art of the silent scream). My fountain gurgles gently and there is nowhere in the world I would rather be.
Contrast my garden with one that belongs to one of my neighbors. The property is beautiful, pristine even. Not a leaf out of place. The guys that do the lawn make sure of that. They come at least once a week to “mow and blow.” The grass is always green and weed-free, unlike my lawn that sprouts the occasional clover and dandelions. Funny thing is I never see any sign of life there. Either from humans or animals. For all the time my neighbor spends on the upkeep of the property I have never seen him or his family actually sitting outside and enjoying it. In the same way, I do not notice birds or butterflies in his garden. Maybe the pesticide smell keeps them away. In my opinion his landscape is dead on arrival.
What about you? If you stand in your garden do you hear anything? Is your garden alive? If not there are some easy steps you can take to resuscitate it. Plant native plants that attract beneficial insects, pollinators and birds. Native Plant Trust has a great website. Leave some perennials standing over the winter as the hollow stems can be nesting sites for pollinators. Leave a few leaves as well; they not only shelter salamanders they can increase soil fertility. Have a small pile of brush and twigs for nesting birds like cardinals. Lighten up on pesticides or don’t use them at all.
A garden is a living, breathing thing. At least it’s supposed to be.
Biophilic Design. Duh.
You may have heard the newest buzzword in design circles: biophillic design. If you haven’t heard of it chances are you have seen it in use. Biophilic design seeks to connect our inherent need to affiliate with nature with the modern built environment. Currently 54% of the world’s population lives in urban environments. That number is expected to rise to 66% by 2050. Generally humans spend 93% of their time inside, separated from natural elements.
To me, this sounds sad. I am grateful that my business allows me to be outside for so much of my day. During the busy season I am out the door at 7 and not home until after 6. All that sunlight, vitamin D, birdsong and breezes means that most days I am in a pretty good mood. And guess what? Being out in nature does that to you. That’s why “forest bathing”, which started in Japan and encourages quiet time spent in the woods, is so popular. Biophilic design is just another way of bringing nature inside (where unfortunately we spend so much of our time). Houseplants, green walls, and water features can make a sterile office environment feel more like the outdoors. Biophilic design can also be used indirectly – by hanging a large naturescape on an office wall, for instance. Using natural wood elements is another hallmark of biophilic design. During a recent trip to Miami I was blown away by the way this whole concept was incorporated into 1 Hotel in South Beach. (See gallery below)
By using natural elements in our environments we can reduce stress, improve cognitive function and enhance mood and creativity. Who knew? Well, apparently my mother, who must have been way ahead of her time. After all wasn’t she constantly telling me to, “Go outside and play”?
My Sally Field Moment.
“You like me, you really, really like me.” Like Sally Field when she accepted her best actress award for Places in the Heart, these were my first thoughts upon opening the report on my latest newsletter. A great open rate had me basking in the adulation of a million adoring fans – okay maybe a few thousand but still I felt acceptance and love as my audience clicked through my newsletter. After all, my newsletter was a labor of love. I spent hours trying to create material that was relevant and important. I know all too well how much spam comes through daily and I wanted to make sure that everything I shared was important and would be found to be, in some way, helpful. Favorite plants. Things to do in the garden. Problematic insects. And of course the occasional rant. All woven together to give my subscribers 10 minutes or so of gardening inspiration.
And then I looked at the ‘Unsubscribed’ numbers. Five! What! How could they? Didn’t they like me, really, really like me? Wasn’t my content helpful, insightful? As I looked at the reasons they unsubscribed I was puzzled. Some said they had not signed up for my list. Yes, they had and I had a signup sheet to prove it but in their defense it had probably been a while since I had sent out a newsletter and maybe they had forgotten. “No longer interested” – ouch. Why? But then I came across one subscriber who really didn’t like me. She said that one of my favorite plants was not native. And then she went on and on. True, I had extolled the virtues of aralia ‘Sun King’; it was named by the Perennial Plant Association as the Plant of the Year in 2019 – and my bees love it. Perhaps it’s not native in my area, but I find it a truly garden-worthy addition. I do not use only native plants; I find there is a balance. As a beekeeper I try to make sure my garden is in harmony with nature but I also know that there are some things that I like that might not be considered native and since I am the one paying the bills I incorporate them. It’s all about balance, in my humble opinion. Often we get on such soapboxes that we end up throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
I will continue to garden as I garden and share my opinions as I feel them. It is nice to be liked and appreciated but that is not the end goal. And while some of you like me, you really, really like me the rest might not. And I’m ok with that.
To Be Real
Those of you like me who grew up in the 80’s might remember the famous disco song with the same title. My friend Sue and I danced many a night away in our high heels and bright blue eye shadow to just such music. This blog is not about disco, however. Although I am now humming under my breath.
The title of this blog refers to the way social media encourages us to be “unreal.” Pictures and videos of perfection and success clutter the internet. Thanks to editing and filters things always look good. Of course we are careful what we share. Only the highlights. Never the “behind-the-scenes.” I wonder if the implied perfection of those we “like” or “follow” does not cause us to become even more insecure. We compare ourselves and are found lacking. How sad.
To be real means showing the failures as well as the successes. It means sharing the story of the client who didn’t like your work. It means posting a picture of what your office really looks like. It means being honest when you are feeling overwhelmed. Admitting that you completely forgot the container for your container gardening presentation (true story, actually happened to me).
If we are real we may find that others will join us. And rather than a competition for who can be the most perfect we can encourage each other in our imperfections.
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