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| Click on Image to Enlarge Our Pollinator Potager, well and truly put to bed for the winter ... but the rabbits are with us still : ) |
Spring of 2017 found me making plans to add fruits, vegetables and herbs to my still developing pollinator perennial garden in our own variation of a French potager. It also found me making what has proved to be a huge decision to blog my progress.
As mid-December approaches, our pollinator potager is well and truly bedded down for the winter; and with that, it seems only appropriate to end the first year of my garden blogging experience with a wrap up of how the experiment panned out and what I learned in the process.
The journey began in the cool soggy month of March, when I kept myself warm indoors researching traditional French potagers and the best vegetables and herbs to incorporate into our compact urban garden.
Space, or lack thereof, and a sparing amount of full-sun seemed to dictate that root vegetables and peppers be grown in pots above ground on the patio, tomatoes would reside on the sunny front porch, and herbs would live in the boxes hanging from the front porch railing to be easily accessible for regular picking. Strawberries and lettuces would need to be in the semi-shade of the tree and raised off the ground to keep them safe from rabbits.
In a tangible gesture of commitment to the venture ahead, I set up my new Blogger account, blog template, and Google email. I also outlined the motivation for and parameters of my project, and in a burst of practicality, purchased the perfect pair of previously worn gardening boots from a thrift store. Then, even before the weather outdoors became habitable, I jumped right in, posting the first two of many blog posts.
Springtime brought a proliferation of proverbial showers that encouraged early garden bloomers, including crocus and dandelions; and, I learned how important they are to the sustenance of pollinating insects. With pollinator education in mind I created a butterfly & bees version of Tic-Tac-Toe for the front garden, in a successful attempt to convince a six-year-old granddaughter that bees needn't be feared.
The glorious perennials often drew me out to the muddy garden just as traditional potagers were designed to do; thus, early preparations were quickly accomplished as I expanded my horizons and began to grow as a gardener. I quickly became engrossed in the gardening process and included my granddaughters whenever possible: Together, we planted, transplanted, weeded, encouraged and anticipated during weeks filled with introductions, introspection, reminiscing and celebration.
My husband, Doug, a casual participant to begin with but always willing to help when needed, became an integral part of the Pollinator Potager Project team, and gradually learned more about potagers than even he'd intended. Together, we constructed a useful greenhouse window from recycled materials in a wasted space over our kitchen sink, erected a simple 16-foot-long decorative fence to deter human trespassers, constructed a flagstone path from front to side garden, and created beautiful double-sided blog business cards; and, while Doug successfully alternated between much needed devil's advocate and devoted garden assistant, he never missed an opportunity to champion my blogging endeavour.
July's fabulous weather and busy schedule really kept us hopping; and, an unexpected Hamilton Spectator feature article about our garden, written by Rob Howard and photographed by Barry Gray, provided a thrilling boost to our flagging energy. Participation in the Hamilton Spectator's Open Garden Week tours introduced us to many like-minded gardeners who offered advise, support and much appreciated praise.
From this mid-point in the season, we found ourselves reflecting, back to the beginning while eagerly anticipating the glorious harvest still to come. As the summer progressed, though, dealing with: deep-root watering issues, tomato Hornworms (a garden pest we'd never heard of or seen before) and mutated cucumbers, caused some concern. Rather than dwelling on the minor problems, though, I embraced the optimistic perspective of my young protégé: I rejoiced in the beautiful weather, helped my mother purchase a covered swing for the porch, recycled stumps found by the side of the road, and enjoyed the frequent pollinators who came our way.
Our eventual harvest yielded: 10 lbs of small Red Pontiac potatoes, 9 Spanish onions, 1 large sweet green pepper, 11 hot mini red peppers; bunches of Rainbow Swiss chard, 1 carrot, several dozen tomatoes of various varieties, chives, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. A meager harvest, for sure; but, we gracefully accepted our home-grown bounty as it came, eating some straight from the garden and storing the rest for use over the winter months.
Making tomato sandwiches of fruit picked fresh from our own vines gave me the biggest delight of the season. Tomatoes have always been a favourite of mine, especially local garden-grown; however, the enjoyment of a potager-fresh tomato sandwich, this year, made up for most gardening hardships we'd encountered.
I am grateful for my sister's gardening knowledge, of which she shared freely and upon which I leaned heavily. I did, admittedly, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants more often than I care to admit; making mistakes through over-eagerness and experimentation when I should have adhered to Jennifer's easy-going-but-more-by-the-book style of gardening. My inquisitive nature did, however, bring about healthy potatoes grown in plastic laundry baskets and deep-root watered tomatoes, less afflicted with bottom end rot than last year's failures.
As colder weather approached, I found myself taking stock of lessons learned, including, but not limited to:
- Buying seed from amateur gardeners is a chancy proposition
- Seeding lettuces indoors isn't worth the effort
- Birds and rabbits will make off with anything left unprotected
- Some humans are inherently lazy; but most are amazing, and
- Children and seniors are great potager protégés
I also found myself rushing to apply finishing touches to my garden decor, withering plants and depleted soil as weather predictions became dicey. In addition to covering the garden with six large bags of mulched leaves, I dried and bagged harvested herbs, planted garlic cloves, and created a rain-water collection garden by the downspout.
The arrival of the first heavy snow ended - externally at least - The Pollinator Potager Project for this current gardening season; and so, with sincere thanks to family members, friends and neighbours; a newspaper, editor, writer and photographer; generous givers, sharers, advisers and admirers; and of course my faithful blog readers; I share this, my final 2017 blog post.
I hope you'll look for me again in the spring of 2018, when the snow melts and mother nature once again shares her gifts and her glory. Until then, live well and grow strong.
