Hit the Dirt; Public Gardens

I just picked up a book gardens of England and Wales over two thousand eight hundred private gardens open in 1992 to the National Garden Scheme. This is a scheme to raise money for charities and one among them is the gardeners royal benevolent society which provides as they say nursing residential home sheltered flats benefit special grants and holidays for men and women who have worked very hard often at low wages to provide beautiful gardens for us all. I like that idea. The purpose and describes all the gardens from Benton palace in Oxfordshire to tenpenny cottage in Gloucestershire from one hundreds of acres to a garden 100 by eight feet. I was struck by the variety from simple to ground from useful to ornamental and by the number of owners who not only do all their own gardening but also plant collectors garden open to the public. What does that conjure up to you. Along perfectly kept a beige spota a Rose Garden a water garden a woodland walk or all of the above being ushered in and out by guides. Little groups of garden club members discussing the merits of new cult of Oz bending to read labels. Perhaps too

many gardens to see in one day. I do sometimes despair a little because you never have the time of the money to create such horticultural wonders. I wildly jealous of such gardens are you inspired by them. I was recently inspired by a garden open to the public. Refreshingly different. An organic garden a nice blue hill created by Deborah wigs and Phil Norris. They carted out of the acidic softwood forest five years ago pulling stumps and hauling in all kinds of organic matter. And have raised their Ph level from 4.6 to 6.8. This is a garden where you can see form and texture unusual design interesting species and season long interest. They're huge. Also Craig onions growing among the coal crops their oriental greens like symposium Mizuno. The garden is laid out within the semicircle of a low stone wall against which are growing fruit trees and perennials. Among the vegetables their herb rocks and a pool. You might say a surprise down every path big healthy plants all grown with a lot of hard work and without the aid of chemicals. The Blue Hill food co-op is sponsoring this

garden and others not only to raise money for the co-op a nonprofit organization depending largely on volunteers but also to raise public awareness of growing organically and offering practical how to information. On Saturday August the 12th King Hill Farm in Penobscot will be open. This is a working farm 40 acres that has evolved over the last 20 years. Dennis King and Joe Brett have four acres of vegetables and organically fed pigs cows and sheep. They try to be sustainable and prefer to market their meat and vegetables locally. That's the commons and Tim Seabrook have their five star from in North Brooklyn open on Saturday August 26. This is basically a macrobiotic garden that produces year round with the aid of a greenhouse cold frames and a root cellar. They also have an organically managed orchard and are expanding an heirloom fruit tree nursery and they raise and dry she talkee mushrooms to full season farm owned by

Eric Coleman and Barbara Damrosch and Helen Nearing its forest farm both in Harvest side will be open on Saturday September the 9th. The Gardens of Four Seasons farm started in 1992. They were also carved out of the forest and consist of perennial gardens fruit trees plantings to attract birds and insects and an 800 square foot vegetable garden that produces year round on the farm while land is being cleared to produce winter salad. Using mobile greenhouses Heather nearing 50 foot square stone walled garden grows enough food for one or two people with the aid of many compost piles and a small solar heated Green has all of these guns are open from 10am to 2pm rain or shine. For more information directions and trophies call the Blue Hill co-op at 3 7 4 2 1 6 5. You can pre register at the co-op or possibly at the garden. Do Cole try and visit these gardens and learn how you can raise and eat healthy vegetables that haven't been doused with chemicals and learn to the vegetable gardens

can be beautiful. This is Sally for hit the dirt.