Getting Started
Things to think about before you get busy...
As you begin your journey as a gardener, you might be wondering what you should focus on first. Initially, you might want to consider - what is the purpose of your garden? A garden can function in a variety of ways - to provide visual beauty, food sustenance, shade to cool your house, or habitat for wildlife - to name a few. The main function of your garden as you think of it, first, will affect the decisions you make and second, what type of garden you create.
Site Assessment
location, location, location ...
When I first begin to work in an area, I like to give it some time before getting out the shovel or the shears and changing things around.
Look around at the land and observe.
What types of plants are already growing there?
What is the light like? Where does the sun hit first? What parts stay shady during the day?
What places might I like to return to: to sit, ponder, play, or otherwise enjoy?
What are some colors and shapes that naturally beckon my eyes' attention?
What types of animals (either beneficial or detrimental) might already inhabit?
Gardening
Ecologically
above all else it is about the relationship ...
No matter what type of garden you want to create - be it an herb garden, a butterfly garden, a cultural heritage garden or something entirely new, I encourage you to broaden your awareness beyond the boundaries of your backyard. What is the ecology of your local landscape? Moving beyond whether you live in the city or the rural areas, what types of forests, meadows, mountains, valleys, or coastal hillsides are nearby? How long does the growing season stretch? What local types of water (ponds, rivers, lakes, the ocean, etc.) exist? What weather is typical for the place that you live? Although it is possible to grow plants that are not indigenous to an area, take some time to consider whether certain plants might have invasive qualities before putting it in the ground. It is also helpful to think about what could have been there before. What are some of the previous uses of the land? Is the site located near an old toxic waste dump or is it the location of an old family farm?
Gardening Methods
If you found this web site it is most likely that you already have a desire to garden with with a positive approach towards the earth. I favor an ecological approach to gardening. Some of the methods I prefer to use are:
- Substituting use of pesticides with use of natural remedies for plant pests; allow for natural life cycles.
- Curtail use of herbicides by planting closely in mixed-plant groups, applying mulch and weeding by hand.
- Supplement the nutritional needs of your plants through natural composting methods.
- Build in natural feedback loops that increase your land's capacity to sustain itself and you.
Excellent Resources
The list of books on the topic of gardening is huge and varied. I encourage you to explore! Some of the books that have informed my own learning are listed below.
- Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska Compiled and edited by Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon
- The Trees in My Forest by Bernd Heinrich
- The Rainforests of Home Profile of a North American Bioregion Edited by Peter K. Schoonmaker, Bettina von Hagen and Edward C. Wolf
- Naturescaping A Landscaping Partnership with Nature Published by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Butterfly Gardening Creating Summer Magic in Your Garden Published by the Xerces Society and The Smithsonian Institution
- The Ecology of Plants Edited by Jessica Gurevitch, Samuel M. Scheiner, and Gordon A. Fox
- Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardening and Landscaping Techniques - Chemical Free Edited by Barbara W. Willis
- Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening Edited by Pauline Pears
- Plant Physiology by Frank B. Salisbury and Cleon W. Ross
- Plant Growth and Development by Donald E. Fosket
- Morphology of Plants and Fungi by Harold Bold, Constantine Alexopoulos, and Theodore Delevoryas
- Biology by Peter Raven and George Johnson