Being in nature part-time has its challenges. It’s early July and we love the green lushness and the blooming of the different types of plant species. There are also other species that proliferate – bugs! Here is an overview of what plants we have, how we tend to them and how we deal with the rigors of being deep in the woods on a hot and stormy summer’s day.

We begin with our zen garden. Its a natural circle, enclosed with old logs and rock characteristic of the land. This garden fits right in next to the cabin. It begin by us noticing a blossoming wild strawberry patch and wanting to protect it. Later, we incorporated some flowers and wild edibles, including garlic. It’s a work in progress.

Next we have the little island or as we affectionately refer to as the pacific islands because it looks like a scene out of King Kong if you use your imagination.

This garden was also a natural landscape feature with rock and wood in a smaller circle than the zen garden but with some other species, noticeably daisies. This also contains our rescue  Christmas tree of 2022, Bruce.

And finally, the Box garden. This is a large rectangle meant for us to  with what works and what doesn’t work for growing plants. Here are a variety of species, including those we  located nearby on the side of the road, lilies and sunflowers. The lilies are coming up now, the sunflowers, not so much.

The challenge in these gardens is to grow pollinating species, wild edibles and supportive plants. It’s a bit of an experiment because of the soil, lighting and harsh conditions. We are aiming to be as self sufficient as possible, using food and water from our own gathering while treading lightly on the natural environment.

We’ll keep you posted as to what we learn and how it goes. Tx! Kit