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Conflict of self-interest

March 26, 2007 by Andrea Bellamy 9 Comments

My backyard is having a bit of an identity crisis. It’s not its fault; it’s picking it up from me. I can’t decide what I want it to be. Is it a garden? A farm? Or an outdoor room?

When I say, “backyard,” I mean a 180 sq.ft square currently covered in concrete pavers, surrounded by a 5-ft fence. The 2-ft. strip that isn’t covered with pavers acts as a temporary holding area for plants I brought with me when I moved last year. As you can imagine, it is truly a thing of beauty. (I’ve only posted one photo of it, and even then it was covered in snow.)

I’ve been looking at this embarrassment of a garden for over a year now. At first I told myself that I wanted to give it a year to get to know the conditions of the site. Now I know I was just stalling. I just can’t decide what to do with it.

The nature lover in me wants to ditch the patio altogether and create a garden. In my world, this would probably start off as an earnest attempt to create a wildlife-attracting edible forest garden and end up being a mish-mash of nostalgic favourites and I-found-this-on-sale-
at-the-nursery-and-I-must-have-its. I have no self-control.

The environmentalist in me reads the first page of my local veggie-growing bible, the West Coast Seeds catalogue, and wants to create a small-plot intensive farm. Due to peak oil, climate change and general impending doom, West Coast Seeds owner Mary Ballon is this year urging her customers to use their land as a step toward self-sufficiency. She urges us to be farmers rather than gardeners, and reduce our dependency on oil. Sounds great. But while I love growing vegetables, would I be satisfied with all-veg, all the time?

The designer in me takes a look at the architecture of my building and the minimalist nature of our indoor furnishings and thinks I should create an outdoor room. Sleek, minimalist and modern, it would be mostly, if not all, patio, with just a few carefully-chosen container plantings. Obviously, this approach is in conflict with the two above.

What’s a girl to do? Have you ever (or do you always) find yourself in this predicament? What did you do?

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Comments

  1. melissa says

    March 26, 2007 at 9:03 pm

    I hear you Andrea. Spent the last four years running a small cottage nursery in Squamish and ended up turning all of my garden into ” holding beds”. Just dipping my toes into the garden design program at UBC and hope it is the kick in the pants I need to bring some elements of design into my sad garden. I don’t think you ever get it right, but the good news ….. is that you can change it. Good luck. Melissa

  2. Stuart says

    March 26, 2007 at 9:44 pm

    I totally ‘get’ it, Andrea. But, alas I have no answers for you.

    I think I would usually start off and see how the inspiration leads me. If I end up with a miss-mash then so what? It’s my garden.

  3. Craig says

    March 27, 2007 at 5:38 am

    Heres what I have to sometimes do for myself…
    make a list of your “wants” in order of importance and take off your garden owner hat and put on your garden designer hat. Treat this as a project for a client, review the list in a objective way and start evaluating the items. Are they practical for this space, can they be done in creative alternative ways, does the budget allow for them, and so on? I recomend that whatever you decide that you allow yourself some spare space to play with new plants and change around on a seasonal basis without having it permanently designed a specific way.

  4. Andrea says

    March 27, 2007 at 9:45 am

    Melissa – You’re right – you can change it! I guess I have to look at it as a process rather than a project. Good luck in the garden design program.

    Stuart – Yes! It is my garden :) That’s a start, anyway

    Craig – some excellent advice there. I especially like the “spare space to play” – I’m destined to change my mind as I go.

  5. Sharon Hultman says

    March 27, 2007 at 12:44 pm

    How about this?

    Stack the pavers in piles of varying heights in strategic spots, and use them as plant pedestals to create interest in your garden. Get some smaller stepping stones (round perhaps, if the pavers are square), lay them out artfully, then plant everything else!

    Veggies are excellent, but if you want to design a garden, you’ll probably wish you had plants that inspired more creativity.

  6. Jennifer Bullock says

    March 27, 2007 at 6:23 pm

    I’m having the same issue. My problem is that I keep checking out the Path to Freedom site and start yearning for a farm. At the same time I want a garden for entertaining. I can’t seem to reconcile the two.

  7. Craig says

    March 28, 2007 at 5:24 am

    I think corn and other farm plants could be very beautiful in a formal garden space. Possibly leaving a small patio (with flowering pots and a small bistro set), surrounded by the “fields” could create a really interesting escape space.

  8. Beth Lawrence says

    March 28, 2007 at 6:11 am

    I think that you may be a minimalist hippyish kind of girl, and I totally get it, I am too. I design and build gardens in Toronto, and here is my 2 cents worth. Almost every time I look at your site you are posting some incredible, modern cutting edge photos. The out door furniture, for example, the cool wood cubes, and the photo from just a few days ago are all very modern. 180 square feet is not a lot of space. Dream about the farm and save your money, you are right, being self sufficient in this day and age is imperative, we are living in wacky times. And as for your space, life is short, entertain your friends, make it a place to gather and have fun, and possibly, how can you make a little nook for you in and amongst all of those sexy right angles. What will bring you joy when you look out onto your backyard? What is a good balance? The suggestion that Craig made is a good one, pretend it isn’t yours and ask yourself what do I want to be doing in this space? What I do when I can’t make up my mind is I plan a project, around the project. Like, If I make this space for entertaining then I am going to host 2-3 parties a month, all with different themes and one of them is going to be seed bomb making. Or inviting all of my friends over who love to write Haikus, and have a meditative afternoon.
    Good luck Andrea.

  9. Andrea says

    March 29, 2007 at 11:00 am

    Sharon and Craig – thanks for your suggestions.

    Jennifer – glad to know I’m not alone. Path to Freedom is a great site, but provocative!

    Beth – thanks for your wonderful suggestions and for leading me to your site! Can’t wait to see what you do with it.

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