“Variety's the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavor”
~ William Cowper (One of the most widely read English poets of his day, 1731-1800)
“The finest souls are those that have the most variety and suppleness”
~ Michel de Montaigne (French Philosopher and Writer. 1533-1592)
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Get Down With Your Dirt!
Compost my friends is not just a good idea, it’s the law (of nature). Compost is the natural process by which the earth turns garbage into gold. Nothing is wasted in a perfect system, and nature knows this best. When the leaves fall from the trees the forest doesn’t wish for rakers and baggers to come clean it up. The forest frolics in this mess as insects, and bacteria turn yesterday’s crop into tomorrow’s meal. As above, so it is below. If the ground beneath us is full of life, then the earth above will be as well. Start your own compost pile and let the magic begin!
Keep Off The (short) Grass!
Sorry, but the green grass lawn is a thing of the past! What could be more boring then only using one type of plant to cover a large swath of land. Can anyone say mono-cropping? Farmers around the world are learning quickly that growing any one type of plant repeatedly to the exclusion of other plants is a big drain on soil health. Why repeat this horrible experiment at home? Sod also has short roots, which make it an ineffective ground cover as most of the water that falls on it is drained away too fast to penetrate into the ground. Replace sod with hardy perennials, and while you’re at it add a little color to the landscape pallet. Look for perennials that bloom at all different times throughout the growing season. Fall color, edible value, and visual texture are three more distinctive features to search for while plant hunting. Get a head start on spring blooms by planting bulbs in the fall. Nothing sings spring like a tiny crocus or scilla flower pushing through the cold earth. Organic gardening methods can change your lawn from a sterile mono-crop to a verdant landscape teeming with life, sounds like a pretty good trade to me.
Bring Us a Shrubbery!
This is not only the demand of the most intimidating Knights Who Say Ni!!, but this is also the humble request of our avian allies. Birds love to find a yard with a wide variety of trees and shrubs. Many woody plants will produce an abundance of small fruits or nuts that will provide sustenance for winged visitors.
Nothing can start a birdy party like a Mountain Ash tree! The freeze / thaw cycles that occur while these plants hold on to their fruit, break the sugars in their little berries down into alcohol by spring time when the birds visit and drink their little hearts content with as much free cider ale as their beaks can sip! Yes, I’m fine with letting the birds get drunk, live and let fly!
Choose trees and shrubs in a range of heights so the birds have several layers of canopy to hide in.
Native trees such as the butternut, and white pine can create an attractive top layer of canopy in your yard. This top layer when under planted with shrubs such as grey dogwood, fragrant sumac, or bush honeysuckle will form an unbroken habitat from the ground to the sky.
These Earth-friendly landscaping methods will assure your becomes a healthy, diverse, and sustainable ecosystem rich with habitat for you and your winged friends.
The Seed Vol. 10 Dec. 20, 2007 A Giving Tree Gardens Newsletter
Photos and Text by Russ Henry
©2007 by Giving Tree Gardens, all rights reserved.
“Variety is the soul of pleasure.”
Aphra Behn (English dramatist, novelist, and poet, 1640)
Variety is the spice of life!
We’ve all had one of those jobs. One of those same-thing-every-day-carpal-tunnel-for- the-soul kind of jobs. You've probably endured through weeks and months that left your brain throbbing like George Jetson’s finger after a hard day of button pushing. In fact any monotonous, dull, or unvaried interaction we have with the world around us leaves us feeling drained. How would your body feel if it had to eat the same food every day? What if you had to hear the same song every time you wanted to listen to music? Life would quickly begin to get a bit humdrum if all your choices could be counted on one finger. That draining sensation that accompanies a lack of variety in our lives is ultimately unhealthy because our bodies, minds, and spirits are biologically required to draw inspiration from a multitude of the earth’s gifts. Man can not live on bread alone, Right? ...In this way the life that is created on earth is born interdependent with a wide variety of the creatures already here. Yep, you know what I’m talking about here, the whole “web of life” idea. It’s not just a cute Disney movie theme. Actually it’s the way life works on this planet to create a healthy vibrant ecosystem, an ecosystem that is capable of covering this planet with teeming life from the driest desert to the depths of the ocean.
So if all the space from the hot Sahara to the bottom of the Pacific is practically frolicking with a smorgasbord of life, why shouldn’t we enjoy that same luxurious richness in our own space at home?
Plant Profile:
Weeping Willow
Salix × sepulcralis
“No pleasure endures unseasoned by variety”
~ Publilius Syrus (Roman author, 1st century B.C.)
Compost Happens.
Even with bare branches the Weeping Willow is a sight to behold. One of the last trees to loose it's leaves in the fall, and one of the first to regrow them in the spring, this fast growing tree is ever popular as a landscape ornament. Willows comprise more then 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs. The hybridisation between the Chinese Peking Willow and the European White Willow is what has produced the weeping willow which has quickly become an icon of American life. Willow bark has been used medicinally by generations of folks. Found mentioned in texts from ancient Assyria and Egypt variations on this remedy for common aches and fevers are today sold under the name asprin. Weeping willow is truly a giving tree. As willow grows it releases growth hormones which help other plants get started. Some clever landscapers have even used willow cuttings planted in amongst other woody plant cuttings in order to promote rooting. Perhaps the most exciting recent use of willow is in a new form of composting toilet called a "tree bog"
Don't let the snow weigh you down! Giving Tree Gardens now offers SNOW REMOVAL SERVICE! Let our bio-diesel burning truck clear your driveway right after we hand shovel your walk! Click here to schedule your free consultation!
As land is improved by sowing it with various seeds, so is the mind by exercising it with different studies.
~ Pliny the Elder (Caius Plinius Secundus)
Want some help with that?
Variation On A Theme
When you look out the window onto the yard how much variety do you see? Is your yard practically a mini-wild life park? Do you see an array of beautiful plants supporting the birds, bugs, and animals that want to call your yard home? Well why not? Luckily, there are a few easy ways to add a little delightful diversity to your outdoor display.
When an ecosystem is varied enough it can support a menagerie of life. Such is the case with this howler monkey bounding through the trees of the diverse and splendid, Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica
We may not be attracting monkeys anytime soon, but growing bannana plants along side native prarie grasses sure does spice things up in Minnesota!
Turn your soil only one time. After you've removed the sod and thrown down a healthy layer of compost use your garden fork to turn the compost down into the ground.
Growing beneath this Minnesota boundary waters pine is a ground cover carpet of corydalis and moss, mother nature eschews sod grass in favor of a wide variety of ground cover plants.
To our winged friends this Mountain Ash is a party waiting to happen!
Secretly filmed, this covert gathering of wild turkeys is actually a meeting of the "Let Them Eat Chicken" society of Wisconsin.
One of the last stands of virgin pine forest left in Minnesota this astounding scenery surrounding the Itasca Headwaters is bustling with over 200 species of birds and 60 species of mammals!
Giving Tree Gardens in the Co-op news!!!!!
