I am preparing to teach a 3 day garden workshop to be held at the Rowe Center in Rowe, Massachusetts. The class will focus on new ways to plant a kitchen garden, starting with the basic foundations of garden site and design, to include lessons on paths, beds, soil and plant materials. At the end of the weekend, students will go home with a drawing of their dream garden, a plant list and the confidence to start the growing season with a pocketful of knowledge.
When I planted my first garden, I started with a ball of twine and sticks to mark the rows. It seemed easy at first, yet I quickly learned that there is much more to tending a garden than I anticipated. Nowadays, my garden designs start on graph paper, measuring the space and counting each square to accommodate the plant list. Then it’s transferred to the actual site, and measured out with sticks and twine.
Visualizing how the garden feels is as important as how it looks. My hope for this class is to inspire students to look at their own gardens with fresh eyes, and go beyond the straight rows to create a space that will bring connection to the food they will grow and their landscape.
