Wild Muse Notes

Every year the tulip bulbs are planted in clusters according to color and every year the squirrels rearrange them for me.

Evening primroses growing up right through the mulch under the lettuce bed. A mystery. I would never plant anything red in my garden deliberately. Everyone has an opinion and the general opinion seems to be that I need more red plants in my garden.

Johnny Jump-Ups jumping up around the Tulips.

An overview of the back garden in development. It will eventually be an edible landscape, a mix of wild perennials and self seeding or saved seed annuals.

I love dandelions and don’t understand why people spend so much time fussing about them and trying to kill them. It makes me happy to see them peeking out everywhere. They are such useful plants. Every part is edible and medicinal.

One of these creatures guards the gate and the other guards me.

One of the joys of gardening are the little surprises that happen when nature asserts an opinion over whatever I’ve planted deliberately, like the wild violets that sprang up all around my tulips or the red and yellow mystery flowers growing up under the lettuce bed. I don’t even know what those are. I always listen and work with what I am given. It’s a delicate balance between cultivation and chaos that makes a garden come alive and so much more interesting than the neat little rows of widely spaced heavily mulched alternate color annuals that landscapers seem to love. It is also the best way to slowly build up a healthy eco-system.

Herbs, flowers, fruits, and vegetables are all planted together using deliberate companion plantings and working with volunteers. Everything eventually works out, as in who which plants compliment each other aesthetically and practically. Two of my favorite books on companion planting are “Carrots Love Tomatoes” and
“Roses Love Garlic” by Lousie Riotte.