by Caroline Schier, 2013 Intern
I have successfully survived another week at Songaia, and I already feel as if I could become their official tour guide. It has not taken much time to adjust to the way of life here. Spending the days in the garden is like entering a time warp, you get caught up in the tasks of planting, weeding, mulching, harvesting, or whatever it may be and time flies by.
Through these speedy work days I have gotten to know the garden much better. At first glance it seems almost like a chaos of plants; a row of tomatoes in one bed, beans in the next, weeds covering several others, trees, bushes and various other crops seem to be just scattered about. But, there is certainly some method within the madness of the garden and that is where true beauty lies.
The more I get to know the garden the more I understand its organization. The way certain crops complement one another, how weeds can benefit unplanted beds, why plants are placed in different locations. Although I have a very limited knowledge of the garden, I feel as if every time I walk through I can identify something new. The garden is showing me the way it operates, and it is my job to respond to its needs.
One great way I have discovered how to do this is by tinkerbell-ing, a term that I think deserves a spot in the dictionary of gardening (if there is such a thing). Laura and I were working on building trellises for the green beans that were just planted and we were instructed to just tinker around with methods until we found something that worked. And apparently in the movies, Tinkerbell, a garden fairy herself, does the same thing when presented with a problematic situation. She knows how to tinker and that is just what a garden like the one at Songaia needs. Experimentation and then response and reaction are necessary for the workings of the garden. This is what I took away most from this week. I intend to try my best to better listen and learn from the garden so that I can help it to thrive.
I have successfully survived another week at Songaia, and I already feel as if I could become their official tour guide. It has not taken much time to adjust to the way of life here. Spending the days in the garden is like entering a time warp, you get caught up in the tasks of planting, weeding, mulching, harvesting, or whatever it may be and time flies by.
Through these speedy work days I have gotten to know the garden much better. At first glance it seems almost like a chaos of plants; a row of tomatoes in one bed, beans in the next, weeds covering several others, trees, bushes and various other crops seem to be just scattered about. But, there is certainly some method within the madness of the garden and that is where true beauty lies.
The more I get to know the garden the more I understand its organization. The way certain crops complement one another, how weeds can benefit unplanted beds, why plants are placed in different locations. Although I have a very limited knowledge of the garden, I feel as if every time I walk through I can identify something new. The garden is showing me the way it operates, and it is my job to respond to its needs.
One great way I have discovered how to do this is by tinkerbell-ing, a term that I think deserves a spot in the dictionary of gardening (if there is such a thing). Laura and I were working on building trellises for the green beans that were just planted and we were instructed to just tinker around with methods until we found something that worked. And apparently in the movies, Tinkerbell, a garden fairy herself, does the same thing when presented with a problematic situation. She knows how to tinker and that is just what a garden like the one at Songaia needs. Experimentation and then response and reaction are necessary for the workings of the garden. This is what I took away most from this week. I intend to try my best to better listen and learn from the garden so that I can help it to thrive.
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