joene's garden » Training

Gain Valuable Lessons in Organic Land Care

joenesgarden — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Registration is open for the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Organic Land Care (OLC) Accreditation Courses in MA, CT and RI. This 5-day intensive course trains land care professionals and advanced gardeners to design and maintain healthy, ecologically-sound landscapes.

I took the course last winter during cold, blustery and snowy days. The training was a welcome relief from the weather. As I posted after passing the course:

I was immersed in training that pulled my sense of gardening and my belief in natural processes together - the NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) Organic Land Care Program. This course, offered annually, covers all aspects of land care and trains you to look at the impact gardening and landscape practices have beyond the edges of individual properties. Read on …

The OLC course brought together all the organic gardening principals I'd followed during my gardening life through its focus on three main themes … kind of the Hippocratic Oath of Land Care:

Do No Harm
Protect Local Ecosystems
Right Plant, Right Place

The OLC course teaches new respect for the life and diversity of soil, and the phenomenal importance it plays in plant health. Did you know that one teaspoon of soil contains millions of organisms that support plant life?

The OLC course encourages seeking design inspiration from natural landscapes and native plant communities.

The OLC course reminds that every landscape decision we make will have either a positive or negative impact. The key is to seek the positive.

Coursework delves into site analysis and design; wetlands and watercourses; native, non-native and invasive plants; wildlife, pest and disease management; soil health; water use and quality; lawn care and lawn alternatives; fertilizers, soil amendments, weeds and mulches; and planting and pruning … as individual entities and from a big picture aspect.

The Massachusetts class in Worcester runs January 9-13, 2012; the Connecticut class in New Haven runs February 15-22, 2012, and Rhode Island's class in Charlestown runs February 22 through March 2, 2012. You can take the course for personal education or, upon passing the test, for professional accreditation.

Interested? Head here for more information, or contact me through a comment below.

If you decide to take the course I'd be thrilled to be mentioned as your referrer. Not only will I know I led someone else to this valuable training but … for the sake of complete transparency … NOFA will give me a discount on my next OLC re-accreditation fee.

Won't you join me and more than 500 like-trained individuals accredited in Organic Land Care? You'll gain knowledge that you'll carry for the rest of your gardening days. If you are part of a business or organization that sends students in a group of three or more, NOFA will cut 15% off the price of the course.

Categories: Gardening, General, Training.
Tags: NOFA Organic Land Care, Northeast Organic Farming Association.

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A Seventeenth Century New England Garden

joenesgarden — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 14:38:07 +0000

To fulfill one of my landscape design lessons, I sunk my imagination into what the gardening life of a female settler at Plimoth Plantation might be. I needed to design a small garden to show key characteristics of an authentic garden set in a period of my choosing. I've long been fascinated by the survival skills learned and adopted by 17th century New England colonists - even tried my hand at braiding onions and garlic - so I opted to develop a series of garden beds indicative of this time.

One of the main characteristics of gardens of this period is their randomness. To optimize planting space beds were created wherever they fit. Beds were not necessarily evenly spaced or arranged. Paths between each bed were narrow and often filled with weedy growth. Garden size depended on the size of each family and the number of mouths to feed. Principles of more modern landscape design such as unity, balance, proportion, rhythm/movement, and interest were not an important consideration. Instead, the driving forces behind early settlers' gardens were function, convenience, efficiency and productivity. They had to grow as much food as possible plus all herbs, medicinal, and dye plants they might need throughout the year. Survival depended on the harvests from smaller garden or kitchen plots and from larger field-grown corn, beans, squash, grains and other edible crops.

Settlers took care to fence edible gardens from roaming livestock and edge raised planting beds with large rocks or the trunks of felled trees … tasks likely relegated to men. Otherwise colonial women did most or all the gardening chores, including digging/hilling the soil, spreading manure, planting, harvesting, collecting seed … all with little help from other family members who were busy elsewhere.

My design shows perennial herbs such as hyssop, lemon balm, sage, thyme, sweet woodruff or mints in green. Yellow shades are annual vegetables like pumpkin and other squash, cabbage, carrots, melons or beans. Fruit trees, perhaps an apple, pear and plum, and berry brambles are planted along the western edge. Additional berries and fruiting shrubs like mulberry or quince run along the north fence line. The heavy black line in the upper right is part of the house. The lighter line just below it is a livestock pen.

Portraying this garden accurately meant squelching the urge to build planting beds of uniform size and shape; to ignore creating paths that could accommodate landscape machinery or garden carts; to forget aesthetically pleasing plant placement; and to forego any thoughts of hardscape or grassy pathways. Settlers did not have herb gardens or beds of dye or medicinal plants. They intermingled all the plants they needed to grow. They placed plants wherever they found space. Pathways were overgrown with weeds, worn down to bare soil, or possibly scattered with the crushed shells from seafood harvests.

These were rough, rugged working gardens. But I think their simple functionality shines through. There's still balance, rhythm and movement, but it's that of a period when garden design took a back seat to growing edible plants to survive.

Categories: Gardening, General, Techniques, Training.
Tags: Anna Gresham Landscape Design School.

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Concept Garden: Herbs and Butterflies

joenesgarden — Wed, 11 May 2011 14:44:01 +0000

It's been a while since I posted about my educational journey towards certification as a landscape designer. I'm still plugging away, moving around and through some roadblocks life dropped in my path, and my journey is taking longer than I want, but anything worth having is worth working for … so I continue to follow my Papa's advice to keep dancin' or, in this case keep studyin'.

One of the lessons involved designing a dynamic space – an area that urges people to move and allows them to do so safely and comfortably. The dynamic space must lead to a static space that encourages quiet, passive activities. My creation for this lesson uses a paver pathway to lead from a flat lawn into a formal herb garden. The four ground-level beds have lower-growing herbs (thyme, Alpine strawberry, globe basil for instance) along the edges of the paved path. Mid-size (lavender, rosemary, chives, sage) and taller (fennel, blueberry bushes, hyssop, tansy) herbs fill the center and outer edges of these beds. A five-foot vine-covered trellis surrounded by mid-height herbs sits at the center of the first paved circle. With no benches or raised areas available for seating, visitors are encouraged to move along the pathways. But the the herb plantings serve as a distraction that slows movement so visitors can leisurely enjoy the scented foliage and colorful blooms of the herbal plantings.

The stroll through the herb garden leads to another circular area paved in an alternate pattern to denote a second garden area. Centered in this circle is a five to six foot tall potted specimen plant – think fig or citrus tree, or a flowering standard specimen. This second circular area denotes the entrance to the butterfly sitting garden. At it's center is a two-foot tall raised bed planter containing a solar-powered fountain – the noise of the moving water helps drown out distracting outside sounds - surrounded by flowering annuals/perennials. At the outer edges of the raised bed, opposite three benches, rests three shallow butterfly-watering basins. While sitting on the benches visitors can observe the butterflies as they flit from flowering shrub to flowering perennial to flowering annual to the shallow watering basins. Square potted container plants sit at the four corners of the square pathway. The planting areas at the edges of the square, paved path are planted with butterfly-attracting shrubs, ranging from three to six feet tall, that enclose the seating area in blooming shrubbery.

This formal design, which calls for paver pathways and granite edging can be adapted to create a less formal feel. Planting beds could have less formal cut-soil edging to keep lawn grass at bay. The paths could be loose gravel, fieldstone, or woodchip gravel. Planters could be simple clay pots. Plantings in the sitting area can also be altered to attract hummingbirds, or the entire design could planted as a kitchen or edible garden. Some of the herbs could be replaced by salad greens, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and beans and the sitting area could be surrounded by small fruiting trees and shrubs.

The idea is to entice visitors into the area using the straight path, slow their movement by the attraction of and interest in the planting beds and, finally, give them reason to stop and reflect on the natural beauty surrounding them as they sit on the benches. Busy gardeners often need to be reminded to stop a while to enjoy the fruits or flowers of their labor. Creating a sitting area enclosed by gardens will do just that.

Click Training under the Topics heading in the sidebar to read previous posts related to landscape design and other training.

Categories: Garden Design, Gardening, Training.
Tags: Anna Gresham Landscape Design School, butterfly garden, herb garden, landscape design journey.

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Land Care of the Present; For the Future

joenesgarden — Thu, 05 May 2011 14:39:30 +0000

«Organically managed landscapes are designed to protect the diversity of the land and its surroundings …» – NOFA Standards for Organic Land Care, pg 1.

I don't know why, but I've gardened organically since the very start of my gardening life more than three decades ago. Perhaps it was the smell of chemicals I witnessed others use in their gardens - I've always had a particularly sensitive sense of smell. I'd rather think it was a feeling that plants have been growing for years without much help from humans, so what makes us think we know better than Mother Nature?

I learned how to grow vegetables at my grandmother's side. She had a knack for finding the best spot for her beloved tomato plants. I don't recall her amending the soil or doing more than providing water, light, support, a weed-free growing area and hand-picking pests. When I began gardening as an adult I looked back to Gram as a model and used observation, and trial and error as guides, noting how and where plants grow, what pollinates them and when. I've taken courses along the way and read a lot of gardening books and magazines, but nature has been my main classroom.

This winter I spent some cold, blustery and snowy days immersed in training that pulled my sense of gardening and my belief in natural processes together - the NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) Organic Land Care Program. This course, offered annually, covers all aspects of land care and trains you to look at the impact gardening and landscape practices have beyond the edges of individual properties.

Since the first Organic Land Care training course in 2002, more than 500 individuals have become Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals (AOLCPs). All completed coursework in site analysis and design; wetlands and watercourses; native, non-native and invasive plants; wildlife, pest and disease management; soil health; water use and quality; lawn care and lawn alternatives; fertilizers, soil amendments, weeds and mulches; and planting and pruning.

But within all the numerous topics ran three main themes:

Do no harm.
Protect local ecosystems.
Right plant, right place.

This means disturbing soil as little as possible, rebuilding disturbed soils with compost, and protecting soils with mulch or vegetative cover. This means choosing plants that want to grow in our region and avoiding expansive use of high maintenance non-native or spoiled brat plants. This means using fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides meeting organic standards and only using these when absolutely necessary. This means respecting the unique role of wetlands (even what some view as unsightly swamps), woodlands (even dead trees support vital insect and wildlife populations), meadows, and natural areas and restoring these areas as much as possible. This means cutting back on expansive lawns and encouraging and planting natural areas filled with native, wildlife-friendly vegetation.

Some of the illustrative comments I noted during the course include:

Every land use decision we make will have a positive or a negative impact.

Draw inspiration from natural plant designs and native plant communities.

It's the soil, stupid. (actually I paraphrased this one but you get the gist). Soil is not dirt but a living entity – one teaspoon of healthy soil contains millions of bacterial and fungal organisms that support plant life.

Think about these comments as you plan this season's gardening and lawn care. Any property owner interested in following organic land care practices should seek out an AOLCP who will follow the Standards for Organic Land Care. Visit Organic Land Care for more information. Read the listings in the 'Homeowner Corner' on the right of the main page. Seek an organic land care professional in your area via 'Landscaper Search'.

This is a great way to begin living more sustainably.

Categories: Gardening, Techniques, Training.
Tags: AOLCP, gardening in Connecticut, Northeast Organic Farming Association, Organic Land Care.

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Landscape design styles – part 4

joenesgarden — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:00:00 +0000

After a brief break from the landscape styles series to share Flowers surviving in dry, dry conditions for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, it's time to get back to the landscape styles discussion.

Japanese-style gardens offer views significantly different from the walled and/or geometrically designed Paradise and Formal gardens of ancient Egypt, Persia, and Roman and Islamic lands (discussed in part 1 of this series), and the pastoral, sweeping views established by the English Landscape Movement (part 2 of this series).

Japanese Gardens

Like Paradise and English style gardens, climate and religion also heavily influenced gardens on the temperate-weather island of Japan. Japanese gardens highlight the simple, natural beauty of rock and stone, greens and moss, unpainted wood, and plant and flower structure set in a balanced and visually pleasing design.

During the 15^th century, Zen Buddhists patterned dry meditation gardens of carefully placed boulders and rocks surrounded by evenly-raked gently-flowing patterns in tiny pebbles or sand - boulders to depict mountains or islands; pebbles or sand the ocean or flowing streams. Mosses, plants, shrubs, and trees, sculpted to represent other aspects of nature, often surround these dry gardens. The act of maintaining these areas and greenery became part of Zen Buddhists' contemplative meditation.

Japanese designs may also utilize simple to severe pruning to show off the structure of shrubs and trees; flowing streams or water fountains to provide soothing sounds; pools of water to reflect adjacent plantings; and singular flowers or flower types to encourage the eye to contemplate the unique beauty of each. Walking paths, benches, and bridges provide viewers access to multiple vantage points from which to reflect.

The Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, aka MOBOT, offers a shining Japanese Garden example – from highly tended dry gardens as the one above to extensive pond/plantings as shown below.

This particular view of MOBOT's Japanese Garden shares many characteristics of English Landscape design – sweeping views, carefully planted trees and shrubs, a soothing pond – but, compared with the pastoral style of the Boston Public Garden pond, this pond clearly evokes an oriental feel through the zig-zag decking offset by inter-planted water grasses, thoughtfully placed boulders within the pond, and carefully pruned trees overhanging the water's edge. The structured and peaceful dry garden offers a miniature reflection of wind-blown sand along a sea coast. Throughout MOBOT's Japanese Garden vantage points and well-placed benches entice one to stop and reflect on the simple beauty of the plants and hardscape used. Tip: early September visitors to the St. Louis area can visit MOBOT's Japanese Festival, September 4-6, 2010.

In contrast, a visit to the Missouri Botanical Garden will also guide visitors through highly formal gardens such as this Boxwood Garden …

… and Paradise-style gardens like the Ottoman Garden (left) and the walled garden tucked into MOBOT's Climatron geodesic dome.

Historical aspects in modern gardens

Paradise, English landscape, and Japanese garden styles, analyzed individually, appear very different. But each follows concepts of visual balance and repetition in topography, hardscape, and plantings – concepts evident in all beautiful gardens. Contemporary gardens still seek to suit their owner's/creator's visions and needs, and the availability of water in most industrialized nations allows this. Modern gardens can strictly follow any one of the above designs or contain tidbits of each.

Consider the design options for an herb garden. A formal herb garden, built in quadrants around a structured central plant or sundial, mimics a Paradise garden plan. One designed in the style of a French kitchen garden, with geometrically planted beds and structured central and perpendicular walking paths, models the gardens of Versailles but in smaller scale.

An herb garden set along a natural slope or rock outcropping, so it enhances but does not block the natural view, mirrors more of the naturalistic-looking, curvaceous English landscape concept. And one set amongst boulders, carefully placed in a sequence of smaller, larger, moderate sizes and smooth or triangular shapes to mimic a mountain range in miniature, then sparingly planted with herbs carefully pruned to shapes indicative of larger trees and shrubs, could more closely represent Japanese design.

Modern gardens often achieve pleasing design using bits and pieces of each of these major landscape influences. But homeowners drawn exclusively to one of these design styles should take care not to ignore the style of their house when styling their gardens. Not far from where I live is a lovely Victorian-era farmhouse sans the typical Victorian ornamentation – more of a simple New England style two-story farmhouse complete with a large, well-kept barn off to one side. Surrounding the house is an equally lovely, well maintained garden of multiple conifers, all carefully pruned to hold their shapes. The garden, which covers the front and side yard toward the barn, has gently curving paths and the ground throughout is covered by pebble mulch in a sand-colored hue that matches the color of the house. Though both the house and the gardens are very well maintained, I feel discord each time I drive by. The house and the gardens don't fit. The gardens aspire to Japanese style but the house and barn do not. The white board fencing that parallels the adjacent road matches the style of the house, but nothing about the property fits the Japanese style plant arrangement, and I find myself wishing the garden designer had left a buffer strip of garden along the road that more closely reflected the New England style of the house. They could have 'gone Japanese' in the more private - not visible to passers-by - spaces. (I'm choosing not to take an illustrative photo so as not to hurt another's feelings.)

To achieve true harmony in modern design, gardeners and garden designers must thoughtfully and carefully blend their garden style to its surroundings. Do you know of garden/house combos that are lovely individually but don't work together – how do they not work?

A special thanks to my favorite photographer, who supplied all the photos of Missouri Botanical Gardens used here.

Categories: Gardening, Techniques, Training.
Tags: Japanese gardens, landscape style, Missouri Botanical Garden, Paradise/Formal garden style.

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