A few weeks ago, I stood looking at my sunny hillside with the man who has been helping me with my garden for the past several years. With the heavy lifting done by Bill Lucki from Natural Garden Design, I’ve systematically removed invasive and non-productive plants and replaced them with plants native to our area to support pollinators and wildlife. But I still wanted the garden to be beautiful.
Bill turned to me and said “you wanted a stream of contrasting color and there it is.” And he was right. In a hillside awash with yellow native primrose, we had planted a weaving line of red yarrow a year ago and now it was starting to make a statement.
The last 4 years of systematically tearing the garden apart and putting it back together again is beginning to pay off, even though I know Bill has had his doubts about the level of destruction! Every year a wider species of birds appear and make their nests here while more pollinators appear to take advantage of the bounty. While the garden will never be 100% native, research suggests that a plant mix of 70% native puts it into the viable eco-system category and I’ve surpassed that percentage this year. The garden feels absolutely magical when I walk through it each morning, full of life, color, scent and sound.
The only way I can seem to truly capture that magic is through video, so here is my portrait of June in the garden. And while the video focuses on roses and lilies and clematis, the native plants and trees create the foundation that surrounds them.
May you enjoy a summer of beauty and magic, wherever you are.
We’re at the end of “Pollinator Week” here in the U.S., an opportunity to draw attention to the plants and practices that build habitats for our pollinator friends. For the past four years, I have systematically eliminated groups of plants that have either been rated as invasive for our area or simply don’t provide any value to pollinators or wildlife in general. Replacing them with natives has resulted in a massive shift in the number and variety of birds, butterflies, and other pollinators that now reside here. The dawn chorus is astounding when Pixie and I step into the garden each morning – take a listen for yourself! 
In the past several weeks, I’ve finally been able to immerse myself in the beauty of the garden.
Mornings with Pixie have been so joyful for both of us as we settle into our usual routine, 
and the garden has never looked better now that the eye and the hand of the gardener is constant once again. 
These days, I am filled with a sense of joy and hope as I awaken each day, eager to reacquaint myself with the plants, the woods, and the creatures that make their home there. 
Absence did make the heart grow fonder and I treasure every moment that I spend in my garden, immersed in the scent of flowers and songs of birds. 
Pixie and I have spent a few quiet evenings by the fireplace as I considered how I want to proceed on the blog and on all of my social media. Did I want to shut down everything online or commit to writing and creating material more regularly? I explored each option fully, as I was frustrated and frankly, bored, with the status quo. I finally realized that I needed to unhook the direct connection between my life in the garden and my work as a composer – each continues to affect the other but trying to sustain material for two separate threads here and on YouTube has prevented me from doing work I would like to do.
composerinthegarden 