I originally started this post after the second year of my permaculture forest garden in Western Washington (US Zone 8b), as my original intent was to share an update report annually. But with so much going on around the house and in my life, I decided to cut myself some slack and postpone this update for a year. If I've learned anything the past couple of years, it's the importance of self-compassion. Amidst all you have going on, make sure YOU are one of your top priorities!
Year 2, going into Year 3, was an impactful time in the garden and in my life. I was dealing with some physical and mental health challenges all while we kicked off another major construction project and said goodbye to our sweet 15-year-old pup Shiloh. I shared my personal story on this blog if you're interested in reading about it.
Learn. Share. Adapt.
If I had to select three words that describe the essence of my garden the past two years, these are the words I would choose.
Learn
As a multipotentialite, I am a life-long learner. I truly love learning new things. And while I will research and observe, track and analyze, I am not, nor do I strive to be an expert...in anything, really. Practically speaking, it's simply not possible to become an expert in all the subjects that interest me. And to dig deeper, I'm honestly not interested in getting into the nitty gritty details of every subject. And that's OK! Gardening is all about learning and trying and observing and adapting. It's something I do for my own enjoyment and does not need to be anyone's idea, including my own, of "perfect."
BEFORE: One section of invasive Himalayan blackberries and lawn that I've now transformed into a forest garden
When I started this food forest, my primary goal was to replace the invasive blackberries with a productive and healthy collection of plants that could feed my family and my community (wildlife and humans). I got excited as I poured over permaculture and other gardening resources and dreamed of what my forest garden would one day become. I observed my property as best as I could, as recommended by leading permies (those who practice permaculture), although I really didn't know how to process the information I was gathering. And then I got to work the best way I knew how.
Removal of blackberry crowns and buried garbage in process
If I had to do it all over again, I'd likely do things differently. I'd remove the blackberry crowns, distinguish growing areas from paths (terracing my steep slope when practical), make a plan for storm water management (particularly important in our wet climate), and then work to build up the soil with cover crops and wood chips (while snagging those errant blackberries that continue to pop up) before ever planting anything permanent.
In my excitement to get started, you can see I've already planted trees before I've finished clearing the space of blackberries, much less taking the time to build up the soil or define pathways and growing areas.
But as always is the case, I didn't know then what I know now. And what I know now is hopefully much less than I will know in the future. You can research and study and observe all you want, but eventually you have to start doing something. And it's OK if what you do isn't perhaps "perfect," as there is no such thing. Nature is constantly evolving and we can learn and evolve with it. Plus, there is something to be said about enthusiasm and enjoyment. Perhaps I could have created my garden in a more efficient and productive way, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the process. I've been beyond excited about incorporating new plants and watching them grow. I have delighted in the wildlife sharing my garden. And I have found more spiritual and emotional peace and contentment in the garden than I ever would have imagined.
Spring 2022
My advice: The amount of information on permaculture and building soil and caring for plants can be overwhelming. There are so many approaches to creating and maintaining a garden, and what works in one garden might not be successful in another. Enjoy the experience. Have realistic expectations. Observe and adapt. Recognize that your garden is a changing landscape. Show yourself compassion. You might have "failures" that help lead you to a more productive and satisfying garden. You might find that your to-do list is longer than the time you have to devote. Consider your goals for your garden, both long and short-term. I hope that one of your top goals is simply to enjoy the garden, however that looks for you.
So, what are some of the things I've been learning the past couple of years?
Since this spring, I have been working to identify the wildlife I see and hear on my property. It has been a very fun challenge! You can read all about creating my Field Guide; plus I've shared a list of resources I have found helpful in case you want to create your own. I have a feeling this will be a life-long project. There are so many more insects, in particular, than you can possibly imagine until you start purposefully looking for them! Being able to identify the wildlife in my yard has not only brought joy and excitement, but it has also helped me better understand the interconnected relationship of my garden, myself and the wildlife around me.
Another fun project of mine this past year has been starting a vermicomposting system in the garden. After much research (and some hands-on experience over the years) on multiple composting options, I decided that composting using worms, specifically using the Subpod in-ground vermicomposting system, was a great fit for me. Check out my Subpod Review to learn about my experiences. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching my wormies multiply as the crew feasts away on my food scraps, leaving me with beautiful, nutrient-rich compost. In fact, I love this product so much, I consider it one of the top 5 Products I Love!
I have also tried raising mason bees the past couple of years. I built the house myself but purchased the nesting material (wooden blocks and cardboard tubes). My first year with the bees went pretty well, though I only harvested 50 cocoons. Given that I started with 50 cocoons, it was a wash. But these gentle bees really are a lot of fun to watch! Here's a short video I took of a mason bee emerging from a cocoon. And here's a video of a mason bee collecting mud to seal one of her nesting chambers.
For the first year, I placed the house on the fence just outside my garden, facing the morning sun. I was able to enjoy watching them every time I walked by. This past year, we had an incredibly cool, wet spring that lasted forever, and bees were very slow to emerge. I'm thrilled that almost every single one of my cocoons hatched (meaning that they were nice and healthy), but I only got 4 filled tubes this year! Based on the recommendation of a local expert, I tried a new location for the bee house this past year. But given the long spring and the fact that this more sheltered location didn't get as much sun, I'm wondering if the two issues combined led to a lower amount of activity. All in all, I found it to be a disappointing experience. However, when my permaculture consultant Mark and I were chatting in the garden over the summer, he pointed out the number of mason bees visiting my flowers. Even though the bees might not be using the home I made for them, they are still active in my garden. I'm ever the optimist, so we'll see how next year goes!
Red clover is an excellent edible perennial cover crop that I harvest for teas. Just make sure you leave some for the pollinators, like this beautiful yellow-faced bumble bee!
I continue to slowly learn more and more about improving my soil from the top down. It's not something my non-science brain processes very easily, but I'm trying to wrap my head around it. My primary focus is on covering my garden with mulch, topping with organic materials, such as leaves and other cuttings from the garden (and compost as available), planting cover crops where and when appropriate, and encouraging mycorrhizal activity (primarily at each new planting).
Interesting, fun and disturbing observations:
Young brown-headed cowbird hanging out in my garden with junco "mom" nearby
This year, I have learned about (and witnessed) brood parasitism, particularly with the brown-headed cowbird. Did you know that a female cowbird will wait until the time is right and then lay her eggs in another bird's nest? That host bird cares for the baby cowbird as its own. Even more dramatic, the female cowbird sometimes kills the host bird's eggs, and after the baby cowbird is born, it often pushes its fake siblings' eggs or baby bodies out of the nest. Wow! Nature can be brutal. You can learn more about this fascinating, yet disturbing, phenomenon in this article by the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society.
Nice surprises! OK, to balance that somewhat horrifying anecdote, here are a few nice surprises I've observed. When we installed drainage around our house (more on that below), we created a dry creek that the storm water runoff feeds into. In the summer months, we get almost no rain so the dry creek remains dry. However, when I water my new plants on the hill above my garden, any excess water is collected through the new drain system, and comes out into the dry creek. Now, I'm not worried about watering my plants in the dry creek because I specifically chose native plants that are adapted to vernal pools (wet or even flooding during winter, dry in summer). However, it was a nice surprise to see birds in the pipe that feeds into the dry creek, enjoying a drink.
Juvenile robin cooling in the wood chips
I have soaker hoses throughout the garden that I have on a timer, which is set to run in the early morning before I get out of bed. One of the hoses runs across the lowest part of the dry creek on its way to a bed on the other side. Water from the soaker hose leaves a generous pool in the dry creek, which the birds LOVE to bathe in! And speaking of soaker hoses, I've noticed that the birds love to squat down in the mulch beside or near the soaker hoses to cool off. I never would have expected these secondary benefits of watering my garden! Side note: I hope to not water much in the future, but my oldest plants have been there for less than three years, with other plants being extremely young, so I'm watering while they get established.
Leopard slugs' acrobatic mating ritual
I have seen slugs mating on the ground, which is weird and fascinating in and of itself, but I didn't realize until I saw it first-hand that leopard slugs have an insanely acrobatic way of mating! They intertwine and then, using their slime as a rope, slide down until they're dangling in mid-air. Then they release their male sex organs, which also intertwine, and swap sperm. Slugs are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female reproductive organs. Once the transfer is complete, they go their separate ways. Here's an incredible video you absolutely must watch!
Share
While gardening can be a wonderful personal experience, it's also an amazing opportunity to connect with others. Seeds and plants are meant to be shared! In fact, many plants perform best when they are divided every few years. When I look out at my garden, I don't only see the rhubarb and strawberries, lemon verbena and tomatoes. I also see the friends I have made through various garden groups who have gifted me these plants. And now that my garden has become somewhat established, I love that I'm able to return the favor and share with others.
Look at the size of this rhubarb leaf growing from a plant that was gifted to me the year before!
Most of the trees and shrubs in my garden were purchased at my local nurseries, but many plants came from people within my gardening community who were nice enough to share. When starting or expanding a forest garden (or any garden, really), consider reaching out to people in your local gardening community. Many communities even host plant swapping events where you can make new friends and bring home plants and seeds for your garden.
I love the beautiful sunchoke flowers (with edible tubers) a local gardener shared with me, and so do the pollinators, such as this drone fly!
Some plants lend themselves more to sharing. For example, rhubarb, daylilies and chives benefit from being divided every few years. Some plants spread easily and should be removed when they show up outside the desired area. Strawberries, oregano, marjoram, yarrow, sunchokes, mint and raspberries all fall into this category. Sometimes people have better germination of seeds than expected and have more starts than they need, particularly of flowers or annual vegetables. Consider sowing a few extra seeds so you'll have plants to trade!
I received a lemon cucumber start from a local gardener who had more than she needed, and the plant produced a massive amount of delicious cukes!
Currants grow incredibly easily from cuttings, so ask around to see if anyone has currant plants you can use for propagation. Others plants are more difficult to propagate, but are worth a try if a local gardener is willing to share a piece of their plant. You can graft with scionwood cut from someone's fruit tree or try rooting a number of plants from rosemary (easy) to blueberries (more challenging). And finally, sometimes people simply no longer want a plant and wish for it to find a new loving home. I have been generously gifted blueberry and honeyberry shrubs and even a pear tree!
Lemon verbena is my favorite tea ingredient; and this lovely plant was given to me by my friend Pat whom I first met at a plant swap!
And it's not just plants that can be shared. I have been gifted wood chips, composting worms, rabbit manure and large rocks for my garden. It's a pleasure to be part of a caring, giving garden community!
Adapt
My forest garden is an ever-evolving experiment. I am continuously observing and adapting, trying new things and adjusting as needed, especially in these early days.
This past year, we finally addressed the major storm water problems we've been having since we moved to this property, which was causing flooding inside our home and within the garden every winter. It took six months of hard work to install a multi-point drain system that now catches the water from the top of the hill, preventing it from getting to the home's foundation, and smartly disperses it into the garden. We also installed a rain garden near the road to collect and clean the storm water before it runs down the hill into the body of water below.
During construction of the revised dry creek
Previously, we had attempted to run water from our gutters into a dry creek in the garden. The idea made sense in theory, but because of the slope, the water was running too quickly and could eventually become an erosion problem. We're dedicated to improving the soil stability on our property and knew we needed to make changes to the dry creek, especially since the new drain system would be sending even more water to the dry creek. So we installed several pools within the creek, allowing water to sink and then slowly flow downhill once each pool is full. We also expanded its width, incorporated some curves, and added rocks, plants and logs to not only slow the water but also to create a hospitable environment for amphibians, dragonflies and other wildlife. We'll continue to develop this creek system farther down the hill as time allows.
Here you can see the beginning of rocks, plants, and logs used to slow water and create wildlife habitat.
This is a section later in the year once the plants grew in. So magical!
Pipe valve installation in progress; not connected to the dry creek yet.
We installed a valve onto the pipe that goes into the dry creek, and that valve is also connected to a perforated pipe that spans the entire width of the garden and then leads into a second, smaller dry creek for overflow and to catch storm water coming from my neighbor's property. I can easily adjust the valve to allow more water into the dry creek or more water through the perf pipe, which feeds the garden. Or I can close off one entirely. This valve allows me to better manage water flow, particularly during heavy rains.
Where possible, I've created trenches that I filled with rocks and covered with wood chips. I use these areas as pathways, but underneath they serve as water collectors.
As you can see, storm water management is highly necessary here in the rainy Pacific Northwest, particularly when you live on a slope and need to consider long-term soil stability. I met with multiple experts - geotechs, engineers, landscape designers, county water and conservation, and ground works/excavators - to develop the plan to manage storm water on my property. It was a massive undertaking but well worth the effort. This past winter was the first year our basement didn't flood!
Here you see the new dry creek, raised beds and finished gravel path with perforated pipe underneath.
As part of the drain work, an old landscape wall of basalt rock had to be removed. We repurposed the rock elsewhere, just outside the garden, and I really liked the look and the fact that the rocks will be LOVED by snakes and salamanders. The rocks will help retain some of the heat from the sun and slowly release it as the day cools. This is a major bonus in our area because summers are so mild.
Once the new pipes were installed in the garden, I had to create and/or modify a number of growing spaces. In particular, once the perforated pipe went in, the two beds alongside it (on the down slope) had to be raised. I was terrified that the temporary relocation and later replanting would affect the health of the plants, but it had to be done. I used rocks to build up the beds and then filled with native soil that was extracted elsewhere on our property during the construction project. Then, I replanted everything, including a young but robust cherry tree, topped with mulch and watered consistently, hoping for the best. Our super long, wet spring helped immensely, and I'm thrilled to say that all the plants survived just fine.
Here you can see the four new planting beds created after the construction. The two on the right are on a hill, so I leveled them off by using rocks and native soil. The plants you see are the first wave of cover crop (turnips, fava beans, rape seed and radishes).
I also used rocks to create two new beds (which were also filled with native soil) in a section that is severely sloped, thus giving me flat planting areas. And I used the rock to line the pathway where the new perforated pipe is housed (to hold in the gravel) and to better contain the hugelkultur bed. Hopefully all these wonderful rockeries will entice more snakes to come into the garden to eat my slugs and voles. I've seen a lot of activity this year, so we're off to a good start!
During my first year, I felt as if my progress was incredibly slow and that my to-do list was always so much longer than I had time to complete. However, when I look back on that year's "before" photos and what the garden looks like today, I am able to truly appreciate all I have accomplished.
During years two and three, I felt like I was re-doing so much of the garden, mostly because of the construction but also because I was learning what worked and what didn't and adapting accordingly.
I moved plants around if I felt they weren't happy in their space. I found success with some of my "risk" plants - like Suhosine Mulberry and Wisley Pearl Gaulnettya - and struggled with "easy-to-grow" plants, such as goji berry. I learned that I had too many gaps in my hugelkultur bed (plants were dying from all the air pockets/areas without soil), so I opted to remove all the perennials, pack it with as much native soil as possible and plant with annuals until the logs have more time to break down.
It can be frustrating to realize that your previous efforts aren't working out as planned and you need to rework an area of your garden. However, I've learned that maintaining an attitude of humble student has helped me enjoy the process. I hope to always be listening to the garden and making improvements along the way.
This is what the hugelkultur bed looked like when finished a couple of years ago, along with the old dry creek on the right.
This is a view of the updated hugelkultur bed, packed with native soil, supported by stacked rocks and filled with flowers, tomatoes, green beans and dry beans. The improved dry creek is in the foreground.
My primary goal for my garden is enjoyment, even over food production. Yes, I want to eventually get oodles of food out of the garden, so much so that I have overflow to donate to others. But I don't want that quest for production to override my pleasure of spending time with the garden, to dull my passion for exploration and experimentation. To combat the joy and peace I experience simply being in the garden without feeling compelled to "work" it.
So, I've adjusted my expectations to better allow for these goals. I embrace the birds in my garden and truly enjoy their presence (and I appreciate all the pests they eat for me). I delight every time I sit in my garden and am surrounded by a cacophony of bird songs and calls.
One of my favorite ways to spend time is to sit in the garden, soaking up the peace and joy it provides.
I know that as my plants mature, I'll be able to get more berries, but for now, I snag what I can and take joy in the fact that the birds have been blessed by my garden and I, in turn, have been blessed by their presence. Yes, I know that I could cover my berry bushes but I've decided that I'd rather lose berries than live with covered plants. It's not that I believe covering plants is wrong (though I'm a strong advocate against bird netting because it can be very detrimental to birds); but to me, my garden is a place of natural beauty and peace. Incorporating coverings, even temporarily, would detract from my experience.
The house finches love feasting on the cover crop (primarily radishes and turnips) I let go to seed.
And truthfully, I like knowing that the birds have full bellies because of me. Nevertheless, I did enjoy TONS of strawberries this year! Even though I shared with the birds, slugs and probably countless other "critters," there was still plenty for fresh eating, preserving and sharing with my community. Take a look at my overflowing strawberry patch in this video.
American Persimmon "Prairie Sun"
This past year, despite the long spring, my combo plum tree produced its first fruit, a delicious yellow egg. My American persimmon has its first three fruits, which I'll harvest later this fall. And I just harvested my first three apples from my columnar tree. While I've been harvesting berries, flowers and various veggies since starting my garden, these are my first tree fruits, and I'm thrilled!
Wow! If you made it to the end of this blog post, you definitely deserve an award! I guess I had a lot to share after two years! I'm documenting the evolution of my garden for my own purposes, but hopefully you have found some inspiration and perhaps even learned a few things from my experiences. I know I have! If you're working on your own forest garden, I'd thoroughly enjoy hearing about your journey!
My single plum harvest this year - a Yellow Egg not yet ripe
Current list of perennial and self-sowing annual plants of note on my property:
Trees: Apple (Pristine, Cosmic Crisp, Golden Sentinel Colonnade); Cherry (Sam, Bing, Romeo); Pear (Orcas, combo: Anjou, Chojuro, Nijisseiki, Kousi, Shinseki); Plum (Italian sucker, combo: Seneca, Italian Prune, Stanley, Yellow Egg); Mulberry (Pakistan, Dwarf Black); Filbert (Theta, Yamhill, Jefferson); Persimmon (Prairie Sun, Fuyu); Fig (Olympian, Little Ruby); Sweet Bay Leaf (Little Ragu); Cornus Mas (Yellow, Coral Blaze); Pawpaw (Mango, Pennsylvania Golden, unknown seedling), Mt. Ash (Baby Shipova); Quince (Havran Turkish sucker); Pacific Crabapple; Medlar (OSU 9-20)
Chilean Guava tastes like blueberries!
Shrubs/Canes: Blueberry (Bountiful Blue Dwarf, Sunshine, Elliot, Blue Crop, Earliblue, Legacy, Top Hat, Northcountry); Honeyberry (Blue Moon, Borealis, Indigo, Cinderella, Blue Pagoda, Blue Hokkaido); Raspberry (Meeker, Munger Black, Willamette, Cascade Gold, Tulameen); Black Cap Raspberry Rubus leucodermis; Loganberry; Currant (Red Flowering, Black Consort, Gloire des Sablons Pink, White Transparent); Lewis' Mock Orange; Serviceberry (Western/Saskatoon, Regent); Jostaberry; Gooseberry (Black Velvet, Wild Black Ribes divaricatum; Little Ben); Goji (Crimson Star, Golden); Lingonberry (Koralle, Erntesegen, Balsgard, Red Candy); Tea Oil Camellia, Aronia (Low Scape Mound), Chilean Guava; Mountain Pepper (Drimys lanceolata); Goumi (Sweet Scarlet, Red Gem), Suhosine Mulberry (Debregeasia edulis); Australian Mint Bush (Prostanthera rotundifolia); Rose (Baldhip, Ballerina, Nootka, other unknown); Evergreen Huckleberry; Wisley Pearl Gaulnettya; Highbush Cranberry Viburnum opulus var. americanum L. Ait; Black Elderberry canadensis (Ranch)
Vine: Grape (Lynden Blue, Black Monukka); Hops (Willamette)
Angelica going to seed - so pretty! I leave the stalks so insects can overwinter in them.
Herbaceous Perennials: Lavender (Hidcote Pink, English, White French, unknown purple, Munstead); Sage (purple, honeymelon, tangerine, common green); Lovage; Thyme (Variegated Lemon, Silver Posie, Common, Spicy Orange); Oregano (Common, Dark Leaf); Rosemary (Blue Rain); Yarrow (Common White, Paprika); Chives (Purly, Garlic); Lemon verbena; Nodding Onion; Agastache (Anise Hyssop, Firebird, Raspberry Daiquiri, Crazy Fortune, Sunrise Orange, Morello, Beelicious Purple, Heather Queen); Coneflower (Echinacea Purpurea, Sombrero Hot Coral); Strawberries (Alpine/Coastal, Raspyberry, Cherry Berry, Pineapple, Shuksan, Sweet Sunrise); Rhubarb; Roman Chamomile; Dyer's Chamomile; Blue-eye Grass; Windflower; Sunchoke; Crocosmia; Daylily (Citron); Salad Burnett (Common, Little Angel); Asparagus (Purple Passion, Green variety unknown); Common Camas; Western Columbine; Fennel (Bronze, Common); Winter Savory; Curry Plant; Marjoram (Hardy, Dwarf); Mint (Chocolate, Spearmint, Peppermint, Mint Julep, Ricola, Strawberry Spearmint, Catmint, Sweet Lemon, Lavender, Orange); Catnip; Anise; Cornflower; French Sorrel; Lemon Balm (Melissa Officinalis, Mandarina); Sweet Cicely; Showy Milkweed; Costmary; Low Oregon Grape, Salal, Feverfew, Big Leaf Lupine; Checkermallow (Henderson's, Meadow); Catnip; Tufted Hair Grass; Western Blue Violet; Wild Ginger Asarum caudatum; Marshmallow; Walking Onion; European Aster; Red Clover; Creeping Raspberry; Vietnamese Cilantro
I harvest and dry Roman Chamomile for my homemade herbal teas.
Self-Sowing Annuals or Biennials: Calendula (Alpha, yellow); Borage; Nasturtium (Jewel Mix, Black Velvet, Purple Emperor); Cilantro; Parsley; Purple Sprouting Broccoli (Purple Peacock); Kale (Dwarf Siberian, Russian Red, Vates, Sea, Casper); Viola (Tiger-Eye Red, Bunny Ears, Honeybee); Farewell to Spring, Large-Flowered Collomia; Angelica (Archarngelica); Caraway; Sweet Alyssum; Tatsoi
Hazelnuts - squirrel food!
Volunteer Plants (that I like and keep or move to a better location): thimbleberry, ajuga, heal-all, purple deadnettle, broadleaf dock, forget-me-not, sword fern, soft rush, common plantain, salmon berry, stinging nettle, dandelion, large-leaved avens, white clover
Dandelion seeds ready to fly
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