Update: I have added a number of planting / transplanting details (how-to drawings) to the resources page. They aren’t fancy, but they outline the steps for planting various sizes of trees/shrubs/perennials in different containers.

It’s December, and I find myself reflecting on the past season. It has certainly been a jumble of things that worked vs. things that didn’t turn out so well.

Projects at home have had their ups and downs — more false starts than anything, unfortunately. I have plenty of ideas floating around, but I have yet to put many of them down on paper. I am, however, eager to get back to the craft of gardening. I find the day-to-day enjoyment from gardens is largely visual, but there is something special about making a garden with your hands. One of the unique aspects of gardening is that, at its root, it is a living, shared craft. I think that understanding has been lost, or isn’t readily apparent. It is a growing, ever-changing, relationship between yourself and the inhabitants of the space you help cultivate. You guide the shape of the space with your hands, and the inhabitants respond to your inputs accordingly.

On the digital side, I am thrilled that my little newsletter experiment is continuing to develop and find its footing. Despite one mulligan where I fell behind with writing, my goal of sending once a month has largely worked out. I also have a lot of fun putting together the garden recipes each month, as they are truly extensions of whatever is on my mind at the moment. No restrictions or preferences are influencing any part of it (other than trying to keep the hardiness zones to 3 or 4). No judgement, either, besides the internal critic that shows up erratically. I’m not sure why he seems to think his voice is needed when I am making a recipe, but I digress…

I have also been working on my priorities for next year, and I think they are starting to take shape. The main focus will be on refining this newsletter — iterate, iterate, iterate. I will also make a concerted effort towards creating YouTube videos each month. I have lots to learn, but I find the shooting/editing process fun in a different way than with my other creative pursuits (anything to play around with camera gear!). At this stage, they will most likely be a visual aid to compliment the newsletter, but I will probably also branch out as ideas pop into my head.

It has certainly been a fulfilling year, creatively. Certainly, much more so than I had envisioned at the outset. Thank you for being part of Maackia’s first year of existence — I am looking forward to the next!

n

the recipe

Hidden Waves

a well-design product should be so good that it is barely noticeable. By omitting the unnecessary… the essential factors come to the fore: the products become ‘quiet, pleasing, comprehensible and long lasting’.
– Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible

This month I thought I would try something a little more formal: a turret. You typically see these in the shapes of kidney beans, somewhere in the corner of a front yard towards the road or sidewalk. I decided to go with a circle that has repeating patterns within. It doesn’t have a focal point, per se, but the small Amelanchier tree (the ‘X’ in the drawing below) acts like an anchor for the garden through its size alone. Otherwise, it will look the same, regardless of what direction you view it from.

There are also few perennials used (this was deliberate, though). Despite the short plant list, there is one flower in bloom throughout the growing season, with a bit of overlap. Colours are complementary (purple/pink/white), and the heights of all the perennials are roughly the same (again, on purpose). I wanted it to feel like a lost island in the middle of an ocean. The Sporobolus grass ties everything together and is the main component apart from the Amelanchier tree. Between those two plants, you end up with an open, yet full, garden space.

Ingredients:

Seasons:

Overview

Spring

Spring is all about the Amelanchier canadensis tree and bulbs. The Amelanchier has small, delicate white flowers, but packs a punch as they open before the leaves start to emerge. The Allium sp. and Crocus sp. add some colour and set the stage for the perennials that come later.

Summer

Summer flows in waves. While the Sporobolus heterolepis wakes up and starts growing in earnest with the warmer weather, the Allium sp. will give way to Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’. This, in turn, will fade as the Sporobolus heterolepis and the Aster novae-angliae ‘Vibrant Dome’ reach their peak.

Fall

Fall will not have anything new flowering, but will instead have a tremendous amount of colour as the plants begin to wind down for winter. Amalanchier canadensis leaves have a beautiful yellow to red colour, while Sporobolus heterolepis changes to an orange / red. Aster novae-angliae ‘Vibrant Dome’ may hold on to its flowers well into October if you have a warm fall, or it may stop towards the end of September. Lots to enjoy!