Overcoming Rigidity

“Nature’s shapes are rarely rectilinear, and there is good reason for that.” --Toby Hemenway in Gaia’s Garden

In my commitment to create a permaculture garden, there are two hurdles I must get over. The first is my natural tendency to think and garden in boxes and rows. The other is impatience. Today, I’ll explore my linear challenge.

I’ve gardened almost as long as I’ve been independent from my parents. From little to big patches behind apartments, to raised beds in the woods and pots galore on the condo patio, I just had to grow things, especially food. I’m a natural grazer. Nothing tastes quite like a warm Sungold tomato picked from the vine and popped in your mouth, blueberries by the handful right off the bush, and perfectly ripe strawberries or peaches, bursting with sweet juiciness. Nothing from a supermarket can match it, except perhaps while these foods are locally in season, and even then, only if you are lucky. I have a knack for getting peaches that are rock hard one day, and mealy after just a day out on the counter.

My spaces have never been large though, so I’ve always followed, in a manner of speaking, the square foot gardening method. Yes, some of the square foot plots were round pots, but I learned to cram as much vegetation in as small a space as possible, some experiments successful, some not so. While my greens would always thrive, my root crops would barely develop. I do still consider this to be an excellent method for anyone with limited space or just learning to garden. Aside from my vision of creating a round bed somewhere, someday, I mostly think of planting in rows…whether greens or roots, tomatoes or vines. This is a reflection of my typically linear thinking, and it comes naturally to me, which is another reason why this method appealed to me all these years.

Before I even launched into my exploration of permaculture design, I was struck by the difference between the garden beds I’ve created, and those that were created by my home’s former owner. Some are curved ovals on slopes, but even her rectangular beds rarely follow a squarish, row dominated pattern. She’s clustered plants together in odd little arrangements with barely a footpath between. Thanks to this freakish, snowless since Halloween New England winter, I've been able to wander the yard frequently, trying to imagine how I can tie the pieces together, those already present, and all the plantings I want to add.

Not surprisingly, given my penchant for them, and bad luck buying good specimens, the first two things I want to add to the landscape are blueberry bushes and a peach tree. The peach tree is fairly simple, as there is a flat area at the top of the hill where apple trees already exist. A peach tree will find a home there with not too much difficulty I think. The blueberries though, I've struggled with, wondering where they will get just the right amount of sun and fit in. Finally, I thought I'd found the perfect solution...a ROW of blueberry bushes along the crest of the hill.

Of course, I'd have to plant them in rows if I want to net them so I can harvest and eat them before the birds do. Permaculture design teaches though that we should welcome biodiversity, including birds and other species that will enjoy the fruits of my labor. I'm sure I'll learn the tricks to making this possible, but all I can think of now is, I must protect my fruit from the birds! Reading the chapter now on garden bed patterns, I'm guessing that there will be a different suggestion for where and how to plant blueberry bushes. If indeed there is another approach, I can only hope that I will let go of my rigid thinking, go with the flow, be flexible and embrace the change.