Healing Gardens

Body:

Reflection #1 Winter Quarter

   

            Prior to taking this class in the fall, I had little understanding of what it meant to manage a forest. Concerning this topic the only knowledge I had was that I knew some plants need fire in order to release their seeds and that was one reason occasional fire was beneficial to some plant ecosystems. I was quite surprised to discover that a properly maintained forest has the possibilities of being healthier than one that is naturally maintained.

The text Keeping it Living describes four different zones in our region. The first one discussed is the “Coastal Douglas-fir zone” which is dominated by Douglas fir and also contains Pacific Madrone, Grand Fir, and Western Red Cedar. This zone is typically a warm and dry area and found along coastal areas where rain shadows occur. The “Coastal Western Hemlock zone” is dominated by Western Hemlocks in its climax stage. Among the Western Hemlocks are also Pacific Silver Fir and Western Red Cedar. The Coastal Western Hemlock zone is a considerably moist area with mild temperatures. “Mountain Hemlock zone” consists of cold tolerant trees such as Mountain Hemlock and Yellow Cedar. The zone at the highest elevation is the “Alpine Tundra biogeoclimatic zone.” This zone is to cold to support trees and consists mostly of low lying perennial plants.

The chapter on forests in The Natural History of Puget Sound Country  also defines several ecosystem zones. These zones include, The Western Hemlock zone which is found at sea level and lower montane regions; the Pacific fir Zone which is found at midmontane altitudes; the Mountain Hemlock zone; and the Timberline to Alpine zone once again at the highest altitudes where trees are not supported. The main difference between the texts descriptions of ecosystem zones are the names given. Also Keeping it Living describes two coastal zones where Natural History of Puget Sound Country only has one zone inhabiting the coastal areas. It seems as if Natural History of Puget Sound Country is more concerned with altitude when categorizing zones where Keeping it Living uses climate as its basis.

Among the plants mentioned in these two texts I am familiar with almost all of them on a literary level. Though if asked to identify these plants, that would be quite difficult for me. Among the plants and trees that I believe that I can successfully identify would be Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Sword Fern, Salal, Oregon Grape, Red Alder, Big Leaf Maple, Black Cottonwood, Vine Maple, and Grand Fir.

While I am not involved in a forested area at the Longhouse Garden I have still been able to get ideas from the reading to put to use for our area. Our region is mostly one of decorative value and I would like to plant some smaller low lying plants that compliment and perhaps benefit the ones that already occupy that area. I would also like to begin managing the plants in our area through further pruning and thinning of overcrowded plants.

  

        Reflection #2

  

                                                                                               

 

            I have been thinking about identity for a few days and it was really difficult for me to pinpoint one particular place, person or item that I can say I exclusively identify with. Rather I believe that I am a very adaptable person that can settle in most situations. As this thought develops in my mind I am finding comparisons to this adaptability I maintain with that malleability which nature possesses. I am surprised at the degree of flexibility that the environment sustains while being subjected to so much human intervention over the past centuries. I can see from the reading that in other ways I can really relate to nature. Growing up with proper care, attention, nutrition and love helped me develop into a healthy and mature adult. Tending to our forests benefits them as well. Certain pruning and clearing back gives smaller and lower growing plants a better chance at survival and also taking out some trees that are overcrowded give others a better chance to fulfill their growth potential. So as I sit here organizing my thoughts I can see how easy it is for me to identify with the forests and nature around me and I am both surprised and excited by that.

            Plants that I can identify from these readings are dandelion, burdock,  douglas-fir, western hemlock, salal, sword fern, lobelia, digitalis(fox glove), yarrow, red clover, plantain, echinacea, garlic, stinging nettle, peppermint, and chamomile.

            I would really like to implement more systems into our riparian area. I think it would be very beneficial to the plants already established if we planted a few companion plants alongside or underneath. Perhaps by our Douglas-fir tree we could add a sword fern or some salal. I believe by employing some system planting we will be able to see great success among our plants.

        Reflection #3

           

           It is a pleasant feeling when diverse pieces of your life come together to form a whole. While at first I was not  aware that this was happening for me in this class, after spending much time analyzing the information I have received and how these different sets of information will serve me in future studies I could appreciate that each section of the class is a compliment to another part. Where the lecture on stem identification was very interesting, without going out to practice drawing and identifying stems in your journal you will not receive the full potential that is offered to you. Also on topic of the roots and stem identification workshop I really enjoyed the concept of contemplating our own roots. This helped me realize how similar we are to plants and how plants can affect us on many levels. This realization helped me see the connection of studying the nervous system with plants that affect the nervous system

My identity is a very complicated concept. I feel that I can identify with many views and ideas and while I do not feel that it is what ultimately makes me who I am nature is quite high on that list. I love spending time journaling outside where I can listen to the birds sing and the squirrels forage. This is my favorite part about being outside.  Because I had no interest in drawing, prior to this class I would sit outside without a journal and just listen and watch. Now I am thrilled to have somewhere to record the sights and sounds that I experience.

While some of the reading I have not been crazy about or perhaps it is just the writing style of Nancy Turman that I have trouble following, I can appreciate the information being presented through the chapters and exerts we have read. It is very important to have a base for your knowledge. While hands on learning is great, it is also important to gather information through the knowledge of others such through reading. One important example of this would be for making medicine. It would not be advisable to just start using plants as medicine without knowing what they should be used for, this could be both dangerous and tedious.

As I see it, knowledge is cyclical. What we learn enhances what we already know and might help us comprehend something that might have been difficult to understand previously. Where the reading we have done helps us understand what we see and gives us explanation on how to use it, the longhouse garden gives us an area to study and practice what we have learned through journaling and hands on work to the plants.

 

        Reflection #4

For me winter is full of anticipation. These days are filled with dreams of warm weather and seeds to plant. In a typical winter, I suppose that I would also consider this a time to slow down a little and take a few breaths, to revitalize myself. However this winter has been anything but slow, and I feel as if I am trying to catch my breath and all I can capture are gasps.

            My relationship with my journal is very gratifying to me. While I am still quite a novice at drawing along with most artistry skills, I absolutely love sitting outside on a quite afternoon sketching and taking note of the sounds that I encounter. The winter has proved to be a difficult time for me and my journal. While I most enjoy drawing leaves and flowers, there is not a great abundance of these outside at this time and I have less interest in drawing leafless structures. This is yet another reason I have such great anticipation for spring.

            We spent quite some time first quarter discussing the questions “what is a garden?” and “what is medicine?” and I think most people will have similar yet somewhat varying ideas of how they feel about these questions. To me, medicine is anything that you can apply to your exterior, any cavities, or internally ingest to bring relief for an ailment or to benefit your overall health. This can be as simple as eating well but can also include making tinctures, teas, poultices and salves.

            Conceptually, my definition of a garden is very similar to my definition of medicine. There are so many types of gardens and everyone’s perspective on gardening is a little different. My idea of a garden used to be the area that I fenced off from the dogs and deer, where I planted rows of vegetables and flowers. This garden is still very special to me as it is a way for me to connect with my history and enjoy the memories of tomatoes and zinnias of years past. I have a much greater appreciation for non-traditional gardens now. In my garden this spring and summer, I expect that I will be planting many more herbs to serve as medicine for my family and friends. Ironically, where I used to look with disdain at the native plants cluttering my landscape I have no plans to take them out but rather to incorporate them into the design of my yard. I also sense that I will be drawing from these wild plants in my yard to harvest medicine this coming year and I am very excited about this.

        Reflection #5   

          Chapter 2, Low-Level Food Production and the Northwest Coast centered on questioning whether or not the indigenous people of the northwest were indeed hunter-gatherers. The chapter discussed guidelines of what would be appropriate activities of hunter-gatherers and at what point along the line of plant food production did they correctly fall. I saw the main focus on this chapter to be finding a clear explanation of the term domestication and whether or not this would be a suitable characteristic of hunter-gatherers types.

Bruce D. Smith used numerous resources for his chapter, and each showed varying views on classifying the levels in food production. At the low end was food procurement which included gathering and collecting with little interference to the environment and at the opposite end was agriculture and with that came severe intrusion to the environment so to grow and support crops. Bruce uses his resources to discuss where along this food scale the indigenous people would fall.

The chapter sometimes seems to convey that the levels of food production are progressive and through evolution one will move up the scale ultimately ending in agriculture. At one point Smith asks, “Were Northwest Coast societies interrupted at European contact, in the midst of a rapid shift over to agriculture?”(pg 52) It is only a few pages later that Smith quotes Yen-(1989:66), which I feel best sums up the conclusion that I got out of reading this chapter. “So Northwest Coast societies, like those of the middle ground in general, should not be viewed simply as reference points on the way to agriculture, as roadside markers of progress, but rather as stable and progressive solutions, as end points and destinations worthy of study in and of themselves.”(54) Rather than trying make them fit into a prefab category they indeed belong in a very enlightened and productive class of their own.

   

I really did not enjoy this reading. I picked Low-Level Food Production because I thought it would include detail of what types of foods were used by the indigenous people and how they grew, harvested, and prepared it. I was pretty excited to read this chapter when I signed up for it but was greatly disappointed by how Bruce D. Smith spent thirty pages to convey what I feel could be summarized with as much detail that is necessary in half of that.

I did show some interest towards the beginning of the discussion on domestication. Having pets all my life, I understood what it means to domesticate animals but I was unable to grasp the notion that plants were domesticated. I realize that this is silly and now it seems obvious, but to me plants were always outside in nature doing their thing while domesticated animals usually hang out inside. Of course plants need care but for their survival to be dependent on humans intervening was a little past my ability to comprehend. Obviously my house plants need me to care for them, but if they were put into their native environment would those plants still need human intervention. This is what confused me. We are always planting flowers that need constant care whether it’s weeding around them or watering them or fertilizing them. Is there anyplace that these plants can grow where the environment is suitable for them?

Overall I was mostly disappointed with this chapter because it was not what I was expecting. The content was somewhat interesting though in my opinion much too drawn out and over-explored.

   

At first this chapter was hard for me to relate to the Longhouse Garden. I then decided I should just find one thing that I found important to helping me understand my site better.  I found Harris’s evolutionary classifications of low level food production to be very interesting (Figure 2.4, pg 47).

Harris’s classifications began with Wild Plant Procurement which consisted of gathering and some use of fire, and moved to Wild Plant –Food Production Dominant which included cultivation and some clearing, and finally ended with  Crop Production Dominant which was agriculture based. Using this scale I was able to comparatively examine the importance of these classifications with due respect to our site. Off the bat, agriculture was out, which left Wild Plant-Food Procurement and Wild Plant-Food Production Dominant. I then decided that we were not going to cultivate anything rather our interest was more in collecting and gathering which put us in the Wild Plant Procurement class.

Being able to put a classification to our site really helped our progress in understanding the area. This was satisfying for me because it gave me a more conceptual idea of my site’s value.

Reflection #6

 

In week 5 we were asked to reflect on winter and how it manifests inside of us. This week, with March at our doorstep, I have decided to reflect on how spring makes me feel. I have an appreciation for all of the seasons but spring is my favorite by far. These months are filled with growth, blooms and beauty. Spring bulbs, magnolias, flowering plums and cherries in bloom are sights I wait all year to witness.

            This is also the time I do all of my vegetable planting. Every free second goes towards getting seeds started and beds ready for planting. There is a tremendous sense of pride I feel towards my gardens. Gardening is something I often do by myself, yet I want to share my bounty with everyone. I do not feel gardens in most cases should be hoarded selfishly. I always plant enough that there will be enough for storage and also enough to pass out to my family and neighbors. I feel very fortunate that I have enough time and space to grow flowers, vegetables and herbs and I know that many people do not.  I get so much satisfaction sharing what I have with them.

            As I think about spring coming, I consider how my emotions are changing. Anticipation changes to eagerness while boredom becomes intense excitement as I yearn for spring to finally come.

             

Reflection #7

  

            For my personal presentation, I intend to convey a few different characteristics about myself. The garden type that I chose to plant will be a fruit orchard. The foremost reason I chose this garden plan was for the privacy it would provide me. I really enjoy gardening though I have little time do it. Therefore, when I am outside I would rather not have to stop to chat with neighbors.

            Another reason for choosing this garden plan is even though I absolutely love vegetable, herb, and flower gardens, I already have pretty well established gardens for each of these. I thought it would be great to put in plants that I have very little experience in maintaining. Consequently, these reasons are why I am deciding to grow a fruit orchard. Not only will I get some privacy through their leaves and branches, I will also obtain delicious untreated organic fruit. Yum 

            Keeping it Living Conclusion

            I thought Nancy Turner and Douglas Deur did a great job in finalizing this book. For as much as I did not enjoy reading the few chapters that were assigned I found the conclusion to be very succinct and informational. I was pleased to read them say that “Pure agriculturists or pure hunter-gatherers may therefore never have been valid categories with which to categorize many human societies.” (pg 333) I felt that chapter 2 awkwardly attempted to say this in a very round about way and did not really succeed in doing so. Nancy Turner and Douglas Deur were able to convey this thought in one sentence. I am really glad that I read the conclusion of Keeping it Living, it helped to appease the bitter taste the book left in my mouth.

           

       Reflection #8

 

            As I read The Sweet Breathing of Plants I am surrounded by a whirlwind of emotions. I consider the book to be my very moody friend. Sometimes it can make me laugh, sometimes I cry and sometimes I don’t want to see it for days because I am so irritated with it. I can guess that portrayal makes me sound like the one with the mood disorder but I suppose it is the book that brings it out in me.

            When I first started reading this book, I really enjoyed it. Even though we were asked to read the chapters without sequential order, I had a very difficult time doing that. I figured the book would have a flow as does a novel and by skipping chapters, I would miss details and become confused, so I went ahead and read it in order. It didn’t work. I was confused almost immediately. I was wondering why the writing style was changing so often. There were poems, historical stories, and personal stories and I found it quite odd that each chapter did not build on the previous. It took me about five chapters to realize that one person did not write the book and I had to laugh. While I could definitely appreciate this diversity of writing it was also quite frustrating finishing a great chapter and feeling very excited then going on to read a chapter that was rather dry and boring.

            Overall, I think I am better off having read these stories. I definitely feel there was more significant and interesting detail in this book than not. My favorite chapters from this book were by far Ode to Mold, Huckleberries, and Living Medicine for Animals. These stories reached me at a far deeper level than I thought probable. It would take me another two pages to explain why in any detail, but in short, I could identify with these chapters very well and they will stay with me for a long time.