The Orchard Garden

 The Daily Dirt: Day 5 - Stop and Smell The Flowers

Until recently, my favourite gardens were Sound and Olive. Earlier this week we visited the UBC Botanical Garden and this morning we met at the Nitobe Memorial Garden. Both have quickly climbed to the top of my garden rankings.

Nitobe Memorial Garden was created as a memorial to Dr. Inazō Nitobe, a remarkable Japanese figure whose goal was to "become a bridge across the Pacific." We were able to take some time to reflect and contemplate the beauty of the garden. 

                        

Are the birds on the payroll? First we were lucky enough to see two owls at the Botanical Garden and today we were joined by a juvenile eagle, who perhaps had its eyes set on the koi pond. 

On our way back to the Orchard Garden, we stopped by the greenhouse to pick up some tomato plants and say hi to the cats. The temperature has dropped a few degrees since the start of the week, but our compost is doing its thing and cooking!

                                      

Turning compost is more fun and rhythmic than one might think. 

To end our first week, one group planted the tomatoes and the others began the process of growing a Three Sisters Garden. The "Three Sisters" are the three main agricultural crops of various Indigenous peoples of North America: squash, corn and beans. The cornstalk serves as a trellis for climbing beans, the beans fix nitrogen in their roots and the wide leaves of the squash plant shade the ground, keeping the soil moist and helping prevent the establishment of weeds.

We added mushroom manure to the plot that we prepared yesterday and sowed the corn.

This week has been a welcome respite from the previous ten. Spending time in the garden, putting our hands in the soil and breathing the fresh air has been an important reminder that not all learning is done in a classroom.