Worms

who tell stories

The Easter weekend came and went. It was grey, too grey perhaps and my heart sort of sank with it. I didn’t do much in the garden. A few plants were dug up and divided but I felt like I was missing something. Easter weekend for me is one which is usually sunny and warm. It is like a gently goodbye to the last hints of summer. Perhaps I am looking back too wistfully on past years with a fondness that is unfounded. Anyway little was done. This weekend in contrast was different and I am trying hard not to put too much emphasis on the mere fact that it was sunnier. Saturday was a day, according to Maramataka, the Māori lunar calendar, for planting so the collective things that needed planting were planted with many little things finding homes in bigger pots. Earlier in the week I had taken advantage of the herb sale at Awapuni and brought many, perhaps too many thyme and sage. I really love using herbs in the flower beds as they offer so much aside for adding wonder to meals. Thyme is a very bee friendly herb. Sage is equally so. Sage adds wonderful blue/purple flower to the garden in late spring which is then replaced by the gorgeous soft silver foliage as a point of focus once the flowering has past. I also love the purple sage for both flower and foliage. Mass planting of herb also adds a lovely background in a flower bed.

“We need to remind ourselves that first and foremost we are creatures of the earth”

Sue Stuart Smith via Pleasant Place - Compost Issue.

Sunday I spent time listening and learning via the Regeneration Summit.* This was a day of online talks from various speakers who are exploring different aspects of regeneration.  Overall the summit placed emphasis on the interconnectedness of human, of plant, of soil. It was a reminder that as quoted by Sue Stuart-Smith “we are creatures of earth”. I listened to talks from Land Gardeners, Zebulon Lafe Horrell and Angela Clifford before the day called me outside. I am looking forward to listening to the records Gina Bria, Kay Baxter and Dr Pan Yoganathan. I think I needed to see  and hear from people who are stepping out and exploring different ideas as to how they garden and live.  It was encouraging to hear their stories and learn of the  conclusions they have made about their gardening and lifestyle practises. I think we need to hear and see more of it, to counter act the volume of woe and sadness that surrounds us on a daily basis. It is easy and I find myself doing this to feel that our garden spaces are too small to make a difference but how we garden is meaningful. Over the course of the day I learnt about new ideas I can adopt and explore with how I garden. I think the thing that I found most significant  were the words from Angela Clifford about the importance of storytelling and imagination and how with the busyness of daily life and the social media we are losing our ability to believe in dreaming about living in a different way. I know I feel this a lot, so I found the idea of dreaming and reactivating my imagination was something I needed to work on. I ask you how do you want the world to be in 50 years’ time? How do you imagine it?

Prompted by listening to talk of soil and all its benefits I spent time hanging out with my compost cake, adding a couple of new layers. I think if one was to follow instructions to the letter you would amass all your cake ingredients and build it in one session. I don’t have the resources to build one big cake so I have been quietly adding the required layers when they are available. We will see if this works. If you are interested you can find out more about Compost cake making here. I want to work on improving my soil as I am sure if I can grow healthier plants then the bees and other pollinators that call my garden home will have healthier lives as well. I’m keen to explore crop cover for over the winter. Kōanga has a good garden crop cover which I might try in a couple of beds and I do like the idea of planting some Phacelia in gaps in beds as a crop cover knowing that it is one that bees love. I did stick my nose into the compost bins that we have been trying to create and was delighted to see many, many worms.

Speaking of worms here are some cute worm facts from the Compost issue of Pleasant Places:

• Probably the biggest misconception about earthworms is the reason they come to the surface when it rains. It’s widespread that they would drown underground. Even though they breath through their skin this is not true. They come up because it’s easier to move to another place. In sunlight they would dry out.

• Worms have ten hearts.

• Worms are always hungry. They can eat up to a third of their body weigh per day. They also eat stones.

This garden was a place, a pleasure, a playground and eventually a garden whose voice over the course of many walks becomes as clear as our own.  She was a wise and beautiful place to visit.

Don’t forget you can always join the “Refuge: A walk in the garden” at any time. Each week over the course of year I will send out a walk or mediation about gardens and friendship. It is something that I think you will enjoy if you enjoy my writing and the cost is similar to a once a month coffee ($5 per month). Think of it as us having a cuppa together.

*note - I won a giveaway to attend the summit.