Our Gardens, Ourselves

 What does your garden say about you?

When strangers and neighbours have walked through my past vegetable gardens they have made certain assumptions. Some true, some not so true. Usually they think I must really like beans, especially after that year when I grew three beds of broad beans and spent far too much time tending to the blackfly. Following the broad beans were multiple varieties of heirloom bush beans, pole beans, and runners. However, I am not very fond of beans. I don’t eat them often and thrust them into the hands of any willing takers. I am simply enamored by their beautiful colours when dried, the names and history of heirloom varieties, and the delicate flowers. The scent and structure of broad bean flowers fills me with joy in Spring.

The scarlet runners attract so many bumblebees and hummingbirds no matter where my garden lands. My garden says that I am a compassionate person who strives to support wildlife and not hinder it. I leave some hollow sticks and leafy debris for solitary bee nesting sites. I let some plants go to the bugs and be sacrificial offerings so other plants can grow to maturity. I plant some flowers and food just for the insects and birds. My fascination with insects and worms started when I played in my parents garden as a child and discovering interesting looking critters is one of the reasons I garden. My garden will never drown slugs in beer and my gloves will never be stained with the lifeblood of another. Just because some of the creatures of the world are small and can do our efforts harm, does not mean they have less of a right to live than us. I have always been fond of the saying: “That’s one for the birds, one for the bugs, and one for me…” Sharing the land is of utmost importance.

Although some of my choices, like the never-ending beans, may be misleading, you can tell a lot about me from flipping through my seed stores or surveying what I grow. You would see that I value old, unique varieties of useful and edible plants. I appreciate colour and my choices cover the rainbow. I stray far from what is available in the grocery store. I am highly unlikely to buy a red tomato and favour a multi-coloured striped slicer. A vegetable garden is just not right without flowers. Although my childhood vegetable gardens only included marigolds, now there is calendula, borage, nasturtiums, feverfew, alyssum, and many other flowers tucked amongst the veggies. 

 

My garden says I like to be creative and experiment. This is displayed through my interest in trying out unique containers and growing methods. For example, this abandoned shopping cart garden I made a few years back. Or when I grew veggies in old wine boxes and wash tubs.

When I asked my partner what my garden says about me he replied “CHAOS”, but after a few moments he followed with “organized chaos”. In my life, I have a lot of passions and dreams I could follow. I have a hard time deciding which ones I should devote my time to. My garden follows my many interests as well. A love of unique edibles, mixed with a passion for herbal medicine and teas, a desire to be able to grow the best cutting flowers, followed by an interest in wild flowers and native plants for pollinators. Somehow everything finds a space, although it can become quite crowded. Not much is in neat rows and companion planting is key. 

My partner says my garden shows a kind a balance, but personally, I don’t think I’ve reached that yet, in my life or in my garden. But I think I am in the process of finding it. I am slowly learning how to build a patchwork of my interests and passions that allows me to thrive. In the same way, I am learning how to fit the flowers, herbs and vegetables together so that each part supports the other and makes a sustainable ecosystem. 

This year the garden will be different again and may communicate something new. I'll be growing plants on a 12th floor city balcony--a new challenge. I may have a community garden plot. I am impatiently waiting to hear if that will be a possibility this season. 

This post was inspired by Gayla Trail's Grow Write Guild series prompt. Grow Write Guild is a creative club for those who love to garden.