‘What Makes My Garden Green’ Contest Winner

August 20, 2010

Congratulations to Katharine Krystalowich for winning our first annual ‘What Makes My Garden Green’ contest and receiving a free annual subscription renewal.

Katharine wrote:

My philosophy has always been to garden organically and share what I grow.  Over the years I’ve come to see our family’s garden as an urban legacy that respects the vision and toil of previous owners but is improved and protected for future ones.

We enjoy sharing the garden’s bounty with extended family and friends.  Pears are picked; beans and blue potatoes cooked, and peas and cherry tomatoes foraged.  Our two boys roam like free range chickens plucking blueberries and raspberries at will.  They are also learning how to grow their own food.  They know compost feeds the soil, retains water and controls weeds.  They have grown up around fish and seaweed fertilizer and think it’s crazy to use chemicals on food.  They like the volunteer cosmos that grow amongst the pumpkins, and don’t think it’s weird that snapdragons and daylilies share space in the strawberry beds.

We also share our garden with an abundance of nature.  Every spring, hummingbirds flit through the iris, in summer we share lettuce with the slugs and grow flowers for the bees.  Fall sees rows of drooping sunflowers and overripe grapes quarrelled over by a cacophony of birds.  In winter, we leave the garden to nature’s capable stewardship and retreat to rest and plan for next spring.

However, it wasn’t always this easy.  We have converted thousands of square feet of weedy bark mulch to lawn and dug out and replanted many flower beds to eliminate invading grass.  We used to turn heavy garden waste, dig compost out of big boxes and screen it.  We don’t mind hard work, but the bees, wasps, rats, and finally termites in the compost box eventually lead us to Community Composting.  Now we have a lot more time to enjoy the fruits of our labour.

Katharine Krystalowich

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