What a week!

This week was incredible! So much was accomplished and everyone has been working so hard. First I will comment on new things I have learned about Vertical Garden planting. 1) Planting things while they are small is so much easier! It is much more difficult to stuff a plant into a small hole when it comes out of a 4 in. pot. 2)Don't plant things while they are TOO small. There seems to be a fine line when determining the size to plant. Big enough to hold it's own, but not too big to fit into the hole. There were a few things I planted that died off because they weren't quite to the point to support themselves. Oh well. Live and learn. The second wall I planted seemed to thrive more and I think it might be because the plants were stronger.

I am SO excited to see the difference in the farm comparing this week to last week. Last Monday the guys started laying the Typar for the courtyard and VOILA! It's beautiful! There is now a wonderful, meandering path from the Quilted Garden to the Vertical Garden. There are several different aspects to the Courtyard. 1) The Lavender Display Garden, we planted many different kinds of lavender. 2) the Miniature Garden, this seems to charm every person who views it. It's so easy to see why. It's so cute! 3) The Herb Garden, obviously this is the place for the herbs. Then you reach the Wall! It is truly an amazing experience. I am so glad I am able to be a part of it. I will now take you on a pictoral tour of the gardens at A Knot In Thyme.

View from the Distance

Entrance to the Quilted Garden (The Warm Side) (The Cool Side)

Entrance to the Courtyard

The Lavender Display Garden The Miniature Garden The Herb Garden My newly finished wall Looking back from the Wall.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. If you haven't come out to see it in person, I encourage you to do so. :-) Nothing gives us more joy than to share the peacefulness of the gardens with others.

Beginning of the Courtyard....

Today Levi and Isaiah started work on the Courtyard. It is really taking shape! The idea is a winding path from the Quilted Garden to the Vertical Garden. It will meander through beds of annuals and perennials. Today they finished laying the Typar and setting the path with bricks. It was very fun to watch it all come together. It really makes it all mesh and flow!

I also started work on planting the second wall. I decided that doing it in blocks would be fun! So it will somewhat resemble a patchwork quilt. Not quite so random as the other one!

I know you all are wondering so I will tell you that the dirt has settled very nicely! I am not afraid for the plants I planted today, I think they are quite safe. It took about a week and half for the dirt to completely settle. I am really glad I waited because the dirt dropped about two feet! I couldn't imagine planting before it settled! Also, the plants that are doing exceptionally well are as follows: Alyssum, Petunias, Parsley, Phlox, Mustard, Joi Choi.

From left to right, what I planted in the new wall is as follows: Various Red Lettuce, Hybrid Phlox, Redbor Kale, Mustard and Endive, Alyssum (Wonderland Deep Rose), Swiss Chard (Bright Lights)

Plant Usage

So today as I worked on the wall I paid special attention to what plants were doing well and which ones were questionable. I thought it would be helpful to list which plants I have planted so far (If I can remember them all!).

*-Doing significantly well from what I can tell so far.

*Lettuce (Many varieties, ask for more info)

Kale-Winterbor

Swiss Chard- Bright Lights, Ruby Red

*Alyssum-wonderland copper, deep purple

African Daisy

* Petunia

Pansy

Parsley- darki, Italian Flat Leaf

Strawberries

Tomato

Iceplant-harlequin

Dianthus- Pinks

Mustard

Chinese Cabbage- Joi Choi

I have planted a lot more I just can't remember what they are. I will update this tomorrow after I pay the wall another visit. :-) And I will continue to update you on which plants thrive.

I think the dirt is mostly settled on the first wall. We have figured out that if we water it in 30 minute increments periodically during the day that it will settle quickly. I am hoping that by this weekend the second wall will be completely ready for planting. After the last catastrophe, I have decided that I would rather wait a little longer than risk the wall's hunger for more parsley. :-) Feel free to comment with any questions or suggestions you may have. This is a learning experience for me and for everyone else.

Thus begins the building of the Wall....

Isaiah Rawls and I (Alyssa Hower) before we plant the wall.

Our first plant!!

The beginning of the first wall.

Then comes the building of the wall. The guys (Josh, Joel, Isaiah, Levi) have done a great a job stabilizing the wall. First they set posts in concrete several feet down. The actual wall is built of hogwire layered on the inside with shadecloth. The shadecloth holds in the dirt. To prevent bowing they completely wired the inside. After all was stable, in went the dirt. Bucket after bucket went in but now they are both full and just about ready for planting. Planting has begun on the first wall. It has been so strange to plant on the side of a wall as opposed to the ground. We have learned the hard way that we must first let the dirt settle, THEN plant. We began planting while the dirt was still fluffy and dry. After we watered it and the dirt began to sink and settle down went the plants! Note to self: Start planting at the bottom, and don't plant until ALL the dirt has settled and you know it won't sink anymore. I have already needed to replant several Parsleys which have been swallowed by the wall as the dirt settled. :-( No fun! Ah well, like I said, this is experimental so now we know. :-)

An Idea!

First, a little background. In 2006, Jack and Wendy Rawls, along with their children, took over the Holly and Lavender Farm (A Knot in Thyme) on DeGraff Rd. in Oak Harbor, WA. Immediately the family began to envision what a fabulous place the farm could be with just a little extra effort. Through Wendy's gardening experience and Jack's farm know-how, the "farm" became a destination! In April of 2008 construction began on the Quilted Garden. What fabulous results! It is so pleasant to meander through the gardens admiring the beautiful flowers, vegetables, and herbs which display such a beautiful feast for the eyes. Planting of The Quilted Garden has been in full force this month; it shouldn't be long before it's blossoming and billowing with gorgeous flowers and veggies.

While doing some gardening research in one of the many gardening books in the shop, I came across an idea that seemed impossible at first. A Vertical Garden? It seems fun but what are the odds we could pull that one off?! At least, those were my thoughts. But Isaiah Rawls took off with the idea and immediately began to configure a design to build this "wall". Through many brain storms and plan drawings, we were finally able to establish a plan.

Here was our plan:

The wall will be a wall of dirt. Sounds simple, but is a little more complicated than it may sound. How would we stabilize it? What will we make it out of? How thick CAN we make it? How will we water it? Where should we put it where BOTH sides of the wall will get enough sun? How can we make it where the wall with not bow out with all the weight of the dirt and gallons and gallons of water? What could we plant that would grow well on the side of a wall? These were all questions that had to be answered before we could start. Obviously, the first thing we did was Google it. Lo and behold, no one has attempted a garden such as this. And if they have, they certainly have not posted any information online about it. Therefore, we were forced to learn things the hard way. This is what we call experimentation. We will be learning as we go what works and what doesn't. What plants just keel over and die, and which ones thrive. The purpose of this journal is to pass our new-found knowledge of vertical gardening to the world of flat gardens. I hope it is useful and that others will gain inspiration to do what they thought was the impossible.