Tamalewood comes to the Gardens

      Probably the most entertaining event of our busy spring was the visit from Ranger Steve Reynolds, US Park Service.  Jeremy Wilhelm, Minnisota screen writer, director, and actor arrived at our home in April looking so official in his uniform and dark sunglasses, I stumbled a little.  Albuquerque local and location scouter extrodanare,  Suzy Dillon, found the perfect location for college friend to demo his new comedy character – our gardens! 

     Ranger Steve Reynolds is a park ranger with a big heart and a small amount of worldly experience.  Following years of disappointment in our country’s foriegn policy, Ranger Steve Reynolds starts “Rangers Without Boarders”.  He believes, deep in his heart, that if Osama bin Laden simply knew the ways of the Park Ranger, he would chose peace with the land and its people.  So, he sets off to Pakistan to find him.  Upon arriving in county, Ranger Steve Reynolds immediately looks up his local guide, Faruk Fahim, played by Muni Kulasinghe.  And where might the Pakistan tour guide live but our cob-slip playhouse!  (see Fall Project: Cob-slip playhouse).

     I small group of organizers, filmers, and actors made the playhouse into a quaint home.  They then spent hours entertaining each other and us with sharp, improve humor.  Well after dark, after we had all gone to bed, the small movie crew packed up their things and moved on with their interesting lives and Mother Nature Gardens went back to farming.  Learn more about the ways of the Park Ranger at http://rangerstevereynolds.com/.

Art for Artichokes

Alexandra in her vegetable garden

Kokeshiflies

   With a spring itch to dig in the dirt, local artist, Alexandra Gjurasic, asked me to help her start a vegetable garden.  We did a consultation at their home to discuss ways to maximize growing and beauty potential of their small yard in the shadow of Los Volcanos.  Of the ideas explored, Alexandra started with a simple vegetable garden in an ignored corner of the yard.  Mother Nature Gardens gave structural help to complete the small project: creating an action plan, braking up dirt and creating a catch basin to bring stormwater from the roof to the vegetables, bringing in compost and mulch to build strong soil, and bringing drip irrigation to the area.   Alexandra and her husband, Steve, planted herbs, and annual and perenial vegetables, added a lattice, and generally tinkered like gardeners like to do.  The area, once only hot, desolate gravel, now breathes live into the livingroom window and calls the couple’s toddler to come and explore the excitement of the natural world. 

   I gladely accepted one of Alexandra’s watercolor pieces in return for my work.  I chose a piece from her series of “Kokeshiflies”.  Throughout this series, Alexandra creates flutters of butterflies with the bodies of Japanese dolls and wings like stain glass windows.  They seem to burst forth, surrounding and mesmorizing the viewer like bright ideas that flash and then disappear.  On the 2-D canvas, however, the Kokeshiflies remain suspended in the moment before they flutter past the viewer into the wind that carries them away.  In my livingroom, the remind me of the rush of possibilities each new moment brings.  You can view other works by Alexandra Gjurasic and learn where she is currently displaying her work at gjurasicpark.blogspot.com.

Abundant Gardening, Abundant Life Class

    Nature creates life in predictable patterns of place and time.  The study of permaculture teaches us about patterns in nature as they occur in space and how we can imitate them to achieve healthy, sustainable communities.  In my class, Abundant Gardening, Abundant Life, I review many of these permaculture ideas and show students on-sight examples in our garden designs, plantings, and maintenance. 

     The second element of the class teaches students to imitate natural timing patterns by understanding and following lunar energy patterns.  Farmers since the beginning of farming have followed lunar rhythms to maximize their yields.  Only recently has this wisdom been ignored and, consequently, our connection to natural creation has weakened. 

     Finally, this class attempts to bridge the narrow gap between following natural patterns in our garden and then in the rest of our lives.  If nature creates life in semi-predicable ways and we are elements of nature, wouldn’t we benefit by following these patterns in more than just our effort to create a beautiful garden?  With the forces of nature backing us, what else might we wish to create?  Balanced, loving relationships; fulfilling work; productive communities; a peaceful world.  That’s a good start.  Nature demands our fulfillment and gives us pathways to achieve it.  By becoming students of nature, we may just become a thriving, sustainable ecosystem.

     I will host the next Abundant Gardening, Abundant Life class on May 20th at 11 am at my Albuquerque home in the south valley.  If you are interested in joining us, RSVP 505-242-4803.  Class fees are $20 and class will last about two hours.