I started gardening organically in 1961 although I didn’t know it was called that until a few years later, and I’ve had a passion for growing food from the start. Twenty-five of those years were spent as a landscape designer and because it was before organic gardening became commonly known, I put together a simple set of guidelines for my clients. An expanded and updated version called “Gardening Naturally” was published by Oregon Tilth, an educational organization that certifies organic growers on the West coast. Because it seemed like there was a need for it, The Holistic Garden book was written and first published in 1992. By then I had come to the understanding that there was really more to the whole thing than just being “organic” or NOT using chemicals. The book and now the blog embrace the realization that we are not alone on this planet, that our lives and gardens are intertwined and dependent on the lives of myriad creatures and plants whose names and faces we may not even know.
Both were created as places to gather together the essence of the latest ideas and information on sustainable and eco-friendly gardening practices that I have tried myself. Having lived in many different climates and dealt with so many different gardening situations (small place in town, large acreage in the country, and everything in between…) there are a few things, I found, that seem to work in nearly any situation or soil or climate. But even those may change as our knowledge of the world and how it works evolves, making this a life-long learning process and much more interesting. I hope you will share your ideas and experiences with me as I share mine with you. Many heads are always way better than one…
The Holistic Garden 