INTUITIVE GARDEN DESIGN
with Rand Lee at Devi
Dyal Kaur’s home.
Sat., February
24, 2007
Rand invites us to call him at
505-988-8011 “to support our dreams” with garden questions at Payne’s
Nursery where he works everyday but Tuesday and Wednesday. And they are closed
on Sundays until spring. He also does professional garden consulting. Rand’s
beautiful and informative book, "Pleasures of the Cottage Garden" is available at Amazon.com.
Well, our Garden Club
Gathering was one of those things where you just had to be there to really enjoy it!
It was magic!
Rand Lee—Plants
Manager at Payne’s Nursery at 304 Camino Alire in Santa Fe, also a forever lover of flowers, wonderful workshop presenter,
garden writer, and author of the beautiful book “Pleasures of the Cottage Garden,” led us on our personal garden
journeys today!
His primary point was
that there are lots of published garden experts out there to get ideas from, but we shouldn’t let them tell us what
to do. Instead, we should tune into our most heartfelt Self and discover the
unique “Ruling Passions for our Ideal Garden”
that run through us! By “passions,” he literally meant the strongly
felt desire of the Universe that is itching to express Its/our own burst of Creativity through us. That which gets our juices running; and the results would feel satisfying through and through. We really enjoyed discovering what bubbled from our hearts, sometimes being quite surprised!
He developed this workshop
after he saw people radically changing course in their garden design even after getting it half or fully finished, not being
happy with their gardens, thinking their gardens should look like the magazines, denying what they loved, and so on. So, this exercise is a way to get at what will really make you happy. Yumm!
This is how he led us
with kindness, gentleness and full encouragement for what comes forth from us.
He handed out a packet
of 7 pieces of paper to each of us. (Copyright 2001, Rand B. Lee) Each of the first 6 pages is labeled at the top with a different topic or “Ruling Passion”
with 21 (or more) numbers for blank spaces down the left side. The 7th
page is described later.
And then he gave a little
expanding description of what we were headed for on each page before we charged in.
He asked us to fill in as many of the blanks as we could with the ideas that came up spontaneously for us. It was very important not to edit our thoughts, but to write down everything that flowed from our imagination
because in using this method, the subconscious helps us see what we might not otherwise see.
Quite enlightening on what came up! The writings were timed to about 5
minutes for each page, so there was not time to dally, only gentle pressure to “spew it all out.” (We actually completed only two of these pages at the workshop, the idea being that once we knew how to
do this we could finish it on our own.) The object is to come up with “My
Ideal Garden” that flows from these six “Ruling Passion” descriptors.
There are no rights and
no wrongs when listing these things, because they pour from you. They may be
abstract, emotional, practical, realistic, imaginative, and so on. Just enjoy!
Here are the page topics
or “Ruling Passions,” and a few with some explanatory descriptions in italic.
By the way, the word “garden” is used here in the English sense, meaning yard or whole landscape.
I.
MY IDEAL GARDEN’S USES, such as for kids, for contemplation, to entertain, bird sanctuary, enjoy beauty, showcase,
etc.
II. MY IDEAL GARDEN’S MOODS
III. MY IDEAL GARDEN’S SENSORY ELEMENTS, such as splashing water, cooling shade, exciting colors, cinnamon smell, etc.
IV.
MY IDEAL GARDEN’S DECORATIVE
ACCENTS, such as birdbaths, bird houses, wind chimes, waterfalls, statues,
etc. With tongue in cheek, he said that any garden that is in perfect taste is
in bad taste!
V. MY IDEAL GARDEN’S
RANGE OF PLANT TYPES
VI. MY IDEAL GARDEN’S
SPECIFIC PLANTS
VII. MY IDEAL GARDEN! On this page is collected each of the defined 6 “Ruling Passions” that we had found most important on each of the 6 previous pages. They are:
· RULING USE:
· RULING MOOD:
· RULING SENSORY ELEMENT:
· RULING DECORATIVE ACCENT:
· RULING PLANT CLASS:
· RULING PLANT:
Now, to get to the “Ruling
Passion” on each page, after we finished making our complete list for a page (each of the first 6 pages), he instructed
us to prioritize by using this unique decision making process. That is to compare
the first two entries. Then without throwing out, but accepting each one “because
we can have everything,” he asked us which one felt most important, and circle the number of that most important entry. Or if one was a subclass of the other, circle the main classification.
Next, compare the item
you circled first with item number three; and now circle the most important of these two (as described above.) Then continue this comparing process in turn all the way down the page, comparing the last circled item
with each new entry. Here’s the magic!
When you get to the bottom of the page, the item that you circled last is your “Ruling Passion” for that
category! Try it and see what happens!
When doing this defining
process, you are not eliminating anything, only focusing. For instance, Kirpal
Kaur found that beauty was most important to her, but she also wanted to grow vegetables.
So Rand suggested to her that she didn’t have to plant her vegetables in rows, rather plant beautiful vegetable
plants, along with flowers to give her both!
Now, once you have determined
your “Ruling Passion” for each category, you list it in the appropriate place on the page 7. And voila! You have determined your ideal garden!
The next step of turning
your Passions into a practical design is the next process. And since Rand let
on that he leads that follow through workshop on “Practical Problem Solving” as well, he kindly consented to coming
back to walk us through that one! We’ll let you know when we can arrange
that. But for now, please take the fun of completing these exercises. They are wonderfully revealing!
And I must say that Devi
Dyal Kaur was the most gracious hostess in her beautiful home, serving delicious yogi tea with delightful yummies! Thanks, Dear.
Also, since Marshal—the
great guy who helps me with my gardening had thinned out my big iris bed, I brought all the extras over to share after our
gathering. These iris will all have dark purple blooms and are quite hardy in
this area. I didn’t water them last spring—dry! And they only got a little irrigation during the summer, but they thrived.
They had been here a long time!
Marshal’s instructions
for planting them are to trim a couple of inches off the roots, dig and loosen the dirt under and around where you plant them,
mix in fertilizer, and then plant them so that about the top ¼ to ½ inch of the corm (the root which resembles ginger) is
sticking out of the dirt. Keep them watered from when you plant them until they
get established—a few months. Then you can water a bit less frequently. And for now, until you plant them, take them out of the plastic bag so they won’t
rot, and keep them in a cool, dry, shady place, perhaps in a paper bag in your garage.
They bloom in spring, perhaps in May, but in order for them to bloom, they need to develop their roots first, so give
them some time.
SOME MORE GREAT TIPS FROM RAND!
STARTING YOUR GARDEN
Start small and expand
over the years. There’s not enough time, energy and money to do it all
at once. And even if you did, what would you do for the next 20 years?
Primarily, start with
what you can see from the main window in your house. This is the most rewarding! You don’t have to dig up the soil, you can use containers such as half barrels
and arrange them interestingly, such as in a labyrinth design, or whatever looks best.
Remember, this small size garden is a “SEED” for what you really want for your full garden. You can try out your big dreams in small patches to see how they work.
Then later on you can expand your ideas to the whole yard!
PLANTING AND COMPOST
Use ½ of your gardening
budget to amend your soil!!!
It is good to have at
least two trees that provide shade.
When transplanting,
use Super Thrive nutrients to avoid transplant shock. It is concentrated “vitamins”
that encourage microbes to break down nutrients so they can become available to your plants, shrubs and trees. Consequently, it is a “growth promoter or accelerator,” but not a fertilizer. Super Thrive is expensive, but highly concentrated. You can
soak dehydrated corms (roots of irises, etc.), bulbs and so on in the solution for about 1 hour before you plant them, and
they plump right up and do well. With other plants, shrubs and trees, you can
water the Super Thrive solution in after you plant.
To plant a tree or shrub,
dig a hole that is three time as wide as the root ball. Loosen the soil
at the bottom of the hole with a spading fork. Take the burlap off the root ball
and spread the roots out—in this desert area, tree and shrub roots tend to spread out fairly close to the surface to
catch the rain and irrigation water, rather than going deep. Once you have filled
the hole back in with your amended soil, don’t tamp the dirt down, but water it so that the dirt resettles. Use Super Thrive in your water.
Be sure to fertilize all
your trees and shrubs twice a year, and water them regularly. Because tree roots spread out quite wide fairly close to the surface under the ground, they often take all
the nutrients/fertilizers that you put on in the soil for your other plants that grow in the same area. Rand solved this in his garden by using raised beds and containers he
called “half barrels.” This keeps the added nutrients and water available
to the plants, and any run off goes to the tree roots.
In this area, we need
to build the soil. This is because the intense ultra-violet radiation from the
sun breaks down the nutrients, and we have low water with high salt content, and low (no) organic matter in the soil. Plants need microbial activity in the soil to break down or digest nutrients so that
they can be used by the plant. However, salt and lack of water kill microbes,
and non-organic fertilizers are high in salt!
Consequently, compost
is best for the soil. Avoid compost that is high in peat moss because although
it acts like a sponge to retain water, it doesn’t have any nutrients, it is highly acid making it difficult for the
microbes to digest nutrients, and it is non-renewable. Most plants need more
neutral pH, and native plants need less compost. Rand felt that a few brands
of compost sold at Payne’s are particularly beneficial, such as Ocean-Forest Compost, Payne’s Soil Conditioner
(composted cotton plants), and Back To Earth. Compost does conserve water.
Rand’s
recipe for compost is to make layers of green material (live vegetation), brown material (dead and heavier vegetation), and
poop. Then water the pile after you put in each group of three layers. It’s good to put the working compost in a container such as a bin or even a chicken wire fence, and
to cover it to conserve water and ward off full sun. Drying out the pile kills
the microbes that turn this matter into compost. So, this will encourage the
activity of non-aerobic microbes that can smell bad, although they are doing their work.
Turning the pile (in a rotating drum or with a pitch fork) brings air, along with aerobic microbes that “sweeten”
the smell of the compost as it is decaying. Doing all these things encourages
fairly quick (a few months) breakdown of your compost. Or if you just leave everything
in a pile for long enough, it will all eventually decay, perhaps within a year.
Composted manure from
stock yards is often high in salt. Horse manure has lots of weed seeds. The brand Gardenville is a low salinity compost.
Mushroom compost is peat moss based, has low nutrients and holds water.
Mulching is essential! Since sprinklers loose 75% of their water output to our dry air, it is much better
to use soaker hoses that are cheap, and irrigation emitters. Then mulch over
these devices. This keeps the ultraviolet rays of the sun from disintegrating
the soaker hose material and keeps the water from evaporating into the air.
If the tag on a plant
calls for full sun, in this area they will do well in shade.
The book “The Essential
Earth Man” by Henry Mitchell is a must read! It is a wonderfully witty
and wry commentary that among other information spoofs how “authorities” tell us what we should like.
FRAGRANT FLOWERS
The most fragrant flowers
that thrive here are from the Mediterranean where their soils are similar to NM. All sorts of lavender are especially wonderful! He cited the
varieties Munstead with its silver grey green leaves and purple flowers; the Hidcottes that are superior with purple and blue
flowers; Twickle Purple that is a complete hemisphere plant with flower spears jutting out; Lavendin, a hybrid that is hardier
than most others, although not more so than the English lavenders and has a sweet smell.
You can actually grow lavenders from seed. (The NM State University Sustainable
Agriculture Science Center in Alcalde—505-582-4241 has a large demonstration garden of different kinds of lavender that
they are promoting for commercial agriculture in this state.)
Native plants, such as
Penstemon, which is in the foxglove family grows quite well here. It has small
trumpet shaped flowers that attract hummingbirds. The Chocolate Flower blooms
each morning with Hershey bar fragrance! You would water that until it is established,
and then after that only in serve drought. It takes full sun.
The Cinnamon Vine is in
the sweet potato family and the blossoms smell like cinnamon! You can get an
organic sweet potato at the grocery store, plant the whole thing with pine needles to gain more acid, and in a half barrel
to retain nutrients.
Hybrid roses are
usually tough and spectacular, and are most popular here, but they usually don’t have much scent. Roses need acid soil and lots of water. Among the many Rand mentioned are the Species Rose, Rosa Alba that grows to 8 ft. tall, with blue green leaves, white
petals with yellow centers blooming only in the spring, then it develops large hips (the orange fruit of the rose). Also wonderful are Semi Plena roses and the hybrid antique David Austin roses that are highly scented.
Daylilies do well here
because they have water retaining nodules on their roots. Now, there are hybrids
that have been developed that are quite fragrant, such as Hyerperion. And there
are some varieties that bloom twice a year, rather than only in the spring or early summer.
You can eat daylilies! Just before the buds open, you can steam them 2
minutes, or chop them fresh in a salad, dried petals thicken soup, and you can cook the root nodules—although Guru Rattan
Kaur got quite sick from such a meal! Other lilies are poisonous.
FLOWERS THAT OFFER BRIGHT
SPLASHES OF COLOR
Annuals (die off every
year in the frost in your local area) are the best to give color! Some are:
- Marigolds, which can be used poorly or very well. Cinnabar Red is a wonderful
variety. The most stinky are good to keep bugs off vegetables. They primarily repel nemotodes, which are microscopic worms, although we don’t have so many nemotodes
here. Marigolds are best for repelling grasshoppers, although grasshoppers do
eat marigolds. The best plan regarding grasshoppers is to plant enough for everyone,
that is interplant lots of different varieties of flowers and lots of them together.
Don’t plant specific flowers in large blocks so that the grasshoppers can feast on one kind of flower.
- Other showy flowers that do well here are:
- Iris, low growing, early tulips, which are shorter; tall tulips are annuals here.
- Ornamental onions, there are many varieties that find this a perfect environment, one of which is Allium cerulean,
or blue onion.
- The yarrow family (Achillia), particularly if you dead head them (take off the dead flowers so they don’t turn
to seed).
- Tiger lily.
QUICK DESIGN TIPS
If you want birds in your
garden, put in a bird bath and change the water every day. Birds need water even
more than seed around here. But you can also put in a feeder.
To create a meditative
space, use an enclosure such as protective walls or hedges. Make it a refuge
from the world.
There are a number of
flowers that will attract butterflies, especially the daisy family. And flowers
that have trumpet shaped flowers especially call in the hummingbirds.
Hanging plants and vines
give a wonderful flavor to your garden, and also consider plants that sway in the breeze such as tall grasses.
To have the sound of water
in your garden, consider a re-circulating pump water feature. You don’t
need a huge amount of water or big construction to do this.
We can swap work time
and effort with each other to share the work on each others’ yards!
