By: Misty Murph'Ariens

​

Okay, folks. I won't lie. I am gung-ho about gardening.  Maybe it is something fundamental about me, maybe it is in my genes, but really, it is no surprise given my upbringing. I vividly remember the back yard of my childhood in Texas. It was a lush jungle of glossy green leaves and exoticly brilliant flowers, created as if by magic by my father, amid a vast desert of our neighbours' yards.  To me, my mother's garden in  Hamilton was an English garden of ivy, roses and lilac—dark, fragrant and mysterious.  It is not just that I love garden fresh produce, or being surrounded by beautiful flowers, or the excellent exercise, or the profoundly relaxing quality of it.  It is something deeper.  To me, there is this cosmic bond with plants, a sort of Universal marriage.  We make what they need (carbon dioxide, organic mineralized nutrients...), and they make what we need (oxygen, stable soil, food, habitat...).  But, knowing what I know now, my idea of gardening goes way beyond plants.  Gardening, to me, is about being the ultimate matchmaker—bringing just the right elements together to create mutually beneficial relationships that fill all the unique niches within each ecosystem.  Fitting all the right cogs in the right places to make the machine work, if you will.  I was taught how to garden in the conventional way, but years of living in forests have gradually changed my perspective.  I noticed that with all the creatures busily at work in a forest, everything ran beautifully, yielding copious food for all, without benefit of chemical fertilizers, sprinklers, rototillers and the like. Now, I would not dream of having a garden without a few animals converting weeds into manure for me.  When I start a new bed, the first thing I think of planting in it is micro-fauna and -flora—all the worms, insects, bacteria and fungi that eat up fallen leaves and finished root segments and convert it back into fuel for the plants.  I do not employ a hoe or rake to turn over my soil in the spring, I just dump some manure and rotting vegetation on the soil I want turned and let my chickens peck and scratch 'til their hearts' content.  The pigs are our plow, the cows are our lawnmower, and our pony is the cutest weed-eater I ever saw.  It's not that I don't want to do any work in the garden.  I just leave the hard work to the experts.  I'd rather the animals deposit their own manure, and if I'm gonna weed, I'd rather it be to pluck out greens for my dinner.  This way of gardening has fed me, made my body lean and strong, and relaxed my mind.  Most importantly, though, it has opened my eyes to the pervasive benevolence of the world around me.  There is a place for everything in nature, there is no waste, and everything works in harmonious concert with everything else.

When I find something wonderful, I want to share it.  So, Bryce and I are running a program again this year called Growing Community.  Learn more about natural gardening, share your wisdom, have your own garden plot or help grow food for the food bank.  All ages are welcome.  For more info, email me at  mistyariens@live.com.