Magic is indeed a major part of my life. I am inspired to create and fluctuate on a higher frequency and from long ago I have always wanted a big garden. Well I finally get my shot. After leaving my husband and moving to a new city I decided to manifest these dreams into a reality. We had drawn a picture of what the future would bring in sand in Coos Bay. I still have the picture and despite the fact our relationship washed away in the sand, that picture never faded. It is my idea of a peaceful place that folks want to gather, where I can reflect, gather my thoughts and manifest the magic I know that is within me now. I began this project in late January of 2019.
I moved to a big house with a ton of possibilities but it is going to require a bit of imagination to make this thing really happen. The yard has not been maintained in god only knows how long and it is stepped down one side, steep in the back and has more weeds than a dispensary. But I see the beauty in it.
In the beginning
Not only has the yard not been maintained but its very high desert here and this grass is only there thanks to a heavy winter. For the most part is is like straw and weeds. But I have a plan. I began to draw what the ideal garden space would look like the journal I speak of many times in my blogs. I keep 2 journals if you want to call them that. The first is for the pantry work I do and the second is the garden plan. I will be going much further into details of the importance of these journals in an upcoming blog. My plans have changed many times over the past few months but this is where I started.
The first thing I did was take a good look at my space. I do not currently own the house but have Owners that are amazing and loved my idea. I drew up the designs, showed the recycled material, and yet came up with a way that it could all be somewhat temporary and not ruin the foundation or the neighbors retaining wall. Once I was able to do all of that, I submitted my plan to the property company and the Owner approved. But just how the hell do you do that when you have never even drawn a garden on paper before?
You draw, imagine and doodle!
I am no artist and I have no concept of architecture or building of any sort. I just know that I want to walk up the side of my house, in a garden under trellises of lush greens and bountiful foods I grew. But what does that really look like?
The first thing I needed to do was decide what it was I wanted to grow. Not all climates are suitable for all types of vegetables so what grows best here may differ from your experience. It is hot, muggy and dry here in the summer. My yard currently has no natural shade or trees, bushes or any kind of vegetation as a basis. I have had small gardens before so I know the ease of growing in pots. Most of the time I have lived in smaller houses with no room or in apartments where you may have a small patio. I have experimented with planting in the past and feel the few things I can grow well might be a good start. But I am not all about simplicity this year, this year is about taking major risks, learning new things..challenging myself and doing what makes me happy.
I have started with making a list of everything I want to sew the first round. Beans, Peas, Peppers, Tomato, Mini Pumpkins, Corn, Squash, Zucchini and flowers of all sorts. Now that I know what I want to plant, I need to figure out what to plant them in. You may of guessed already but I am going to use pallets and recycled materials to create the look I want without the need to spend a ton of money. I am really getting into reclaiming woods, metals and recycling as much as possible to create this, I do not have the money to really spend except for bags of dirt so I need to be as frugal as possible.
I have been doing a ton of research on composting and sewing seeds, soil depth in raised boxes...there is so much information on the web that its not hard to quickly become an expert on the basics of raised beds but I have very little experience with them and so I will be winging most of this and researching the rest. The plan is to keep the dogs and deer out, bee's in and create a walk way and sitting space that accommodates several people at once. All of this whilst I maintain my neighbors retaining wall and the integrity of the property.
Based on my first plan I drew ground level boxes that were tall enough to accommodate trellises. But seriously right here I had to face it, I am 45 years old and so long as I do this for a few years..the bending over and being on my knees for long periods just doesn't seem like a good time to me. I also drew in some privacy walls or so of but using corn and sunflowers to block out the neighbors and maybe set boundary lines for the entire project. I drew in a gate and fencing, trying to figure out where everything should go..from the start I knew this was just a plan and not really the final guideline or instructions...drawing this several times and in several ways and then going out to measure the yard gave me a massive perspective as to what had to work with. Keeping this journal, being ok with stick figure drawings and doing measurements as I go has become literally the most important lesson I have gained in all of this. I have, as you will later see, drawn this yard a million times. I have remeasured, recreated and reassigned almost everything, as the plans change looking back I can see my own personal growth as well.
I have always wanted a garden of my own, a sanctuary outdoors that encompasses nature and peace. I was not sure if this was really something I could undertake and sometimes have to pinch myself to know that I am really about to do this. Over the past several months I have gained a confidence about who I am and what I am capable of doing. I drew this and and believe I can do it, so I will. You go into these things with fear because you want to do the best you can with your own ideas. But the truth is, just the idea of doing it is enough, you don't have to have skills or a ton of money or a man or bigger person to do the hard stuff for you. All you need is the will to try. The courage to say fuck all the stereotypes of the negative impulses set on you by another person...no one even needs to care your doing it. Only you need to care. Only you need to want to try something new and only you an actually make this happen. If you can take the steps to put your thoughts on paper, you can make whats on that paper a reality. There is no one to stop you, no one to discourage you and no one to say "Good Job Baby" in the most condescending- wanna smack the fuck right out of you- type of tone in the world...there is no one in your way but YOU!
You can grow your own food, you can manifest your dreams..you can build your own sanctuary. You can do anything in this world you allow yourself to. You don't need faith, you don't need hope...it all starts with you and my journey begins here!
Comments