It seems that the last time I did any real gardening was before I became mayor for the City of Lake Helen… and it all came to a halt back in 2017 with the campaign and the full immersion of not only the politics of the city and its people but also of the administration and the history of the city. And those that know me… I don’t like going half way into anything.
What did that mean for my garden in the past 6 years? … it had to go on the back burner. Fortunately Mother Nature takes care of everything, we are the silly ones to think we are in control. To get myself back into the gardening groove, I have been contemplating on what it is that I truly want in my garden and out of my gardening experience.
It’s a mixture of a meditation place combined with medicine for the eyes, and body. I’d like to have pathways to walk on barefoot with sitting nooks of various types; bench, chairs and even wood stumps.
The good thing is that this year I had an opportunity to see this vision coming to reality. What started as an old orange grove now is becoming a haven of Peace and Nourishment… (at least in my section of this piece of heaven), not only for me but also for the little creatures and bigger ones too – since on occasion we’ve had a deer or two nibble at our bounty.
Additionally, I’ve come to the realization that Nature will always win. This means understanding what she is willing to give me to work with. Zone 9 here in Florida means that I can not have all those lovely tropical edibles that I so long to have… but I sure can settle for what Mother Nature wants to make happen for me.
Can you spot George?
An example is the mango tree that I’m trying to grow – it had been growing in a pot for over 3 years and then last 2 years I’ve placed it in the ground. During the Spring it attempted to bloom flowers for potential fruit but it aborted the blooms.
What I find interesting is that less than a mile from me to the East, one of our town folks is growing a mango tree and it has provided wonderful bounty. Mine froze back last year and George chopped it down to the stump. I hoped he had not done that, but none the less, Mother Nature was good to me and grew stalks from the stump and now they are about 5 feet tall!! You better believe I will be bundling that baby tree to keep it warm this Winter.
I love the combination of herbs, vegetables and flowers in the garden and all the lovely butterflies that visit.
This year I focused more on the pathways and the resting spots. I did not concern myself with growing anything yet somehow I managed to have a nice harvest of tomatoes, pinto beans, peppers and the Zinnias and Marigolds simply had reseeded and grew just in the perfect locations.
Our garden is made complete with the sounds of our chickens… let me invite you out here to the chicken coop. The girls are so lovely and so generous.
One thing I like about living on 5 acres is that George can play on the rest of the 4.5 acres. He’s been restoring the orange grove and added so many lovely trees throughout the property… finally this year they really took off (I’ll do a post just on the trees soon). One of his favorite spots is the patio he created for us to escape from the Florida heat… it seems that the cats make better use of that space than we do.
This year George decided to add mulch rows in the citrus grove with hopes that it will help with water retention… I must say that he seems the happiest when he’s out in the garden, that is of-course until he finds that some creature has nibbled on his plants.
I feel that a garden can be an extension of ones inner journey… and can give clues to ones nature.
