This September and October Jessica and I will be sharing the story of our gardens. As I write this, I am appreciating the cooler weather we have this morning, and I am happy that it seems fall will be on the way soon. It got me thinking about how much gardening has been shaping my lifestyle over the last few years. I am outside first thing every morning regardless of the season. I pay attention to the weather and I have learned so much about soil, insects, amendments and all things related to gardening. I started gardening 4 years ago and decided to name my garden Solitary Bees Gardens. One of the simplest pleasures for me is being able to go outside and pick all the ingredients for an entire meal. There is such joy and satisfaction in harvesting what I grew from the earth I have been loving tending. Initially growing vegetables was my intention, but I realized how much I missed flowers, so I added a few in. I also make herbal medicine and realized I really wanted to grow some herbs and flowers that I can use in tinctures, infusions, oils, and teas. It became clear early in my gardening journey that food, aesthetics, supporting beneficial insects and plant medicine all mattered to me.
What is gardening to you?
Gardening is a large part of who I am, I cannot imagine not doing this. It is my connection to the earth, my relationship with plants. It is my sanity, my zen. This is my meditation it is where I work out life.
How did your garden adventure begin?
My parents gardened. We had a fairly large garden actually. The front was filled with rose bushes, some ornamental flower beds and a couple of ornamental trees. There were a few fruit trees and my dad’s pride was what we called a rockery. It was in the corner of the garden and had a variety of cactus. I bet he is laughing at where I live now! The backyard was a very productive veggie garden. I don’t recall my parents ever asking us to garden or encouraging it. We just helped- me more so than the others. After I moved to the USA, I always had some potted flowers or something around, but it wasn’t until 4 years ago that I learned, I could actually grow more here. I started with a few veggies, I recall trying a tomato and okra in April. I failed miserably. I started to look things up and tried again. It morphed into much more than I could have imagined.
What changes have you made that have been really impactful?
Adaptability. I garden in containers mostly. I have had to learn adaptability along the way. I have also learned not to sweat to the small stuff, things are going to die sometimes, despite my best efforts. Another big thing for me was learning to build soil. Once I had a good understanding of soil and how to treat it, I started to see a huge difference.
What do you enjoy growing?
My love affair is with tomatoes. It is the crop that most excites me in spring. I grow a lot of different veggies particularly varieties that are not common. I do chase the rare stuff, I will hunt the earth for something I read about and must have. There’s a particular variety of carrot seed that I spent 3 years looking for. There are a few fruit trees in my garden as well, but that collection is small. Ideally, I would have a fantastic fig tree collection. Roses are also one of my passions. My mom is a rose lover and grew the most incredible roses.
What do you want other gardeners to know about your garden?
I want my garden to inspire and motivate others. Container growing is not the easiest in the desert. When I first started, no one was really doing it here, and there was a lot of people telling me that I was wasting my time, nothing will survive the summer. I persevered and I found a way to do it. It’s not always perfect and it is hard work in the summer, but it’s my lifestyle now. I want others to know they can find a way to grow something.
What are your biggest gardening challenges?
The summer weather for sure. It’s hard to be out there, and really taking care of things as I would like to. Things still grow, but I know I do not give them as much attention as I do the winter garden.
What are your biggest successes?
Mostly figuring out a system to grow in containers year-round. Crop wise this seems to vary from season to season, year to year. In 2018 I had magnificent tomatoes. In spring 2019 my fava beans were incredibly prolific. The carrots and radishes were also amazing but my lettuce not so good. There is always going to be some kind of challenge, nothing is ever perfect in the garden.
Any tips to share with others?
Learn to master 3 things:
- Soil – if you understand this, you will find that it is much easier to grow things.
- Water– we live in the desert, you have to pay attention to watering and figure out how to best water in your space.
- Microclimate– this ties in with adaptability. Either grow crops adapted to your gardening space or create microclimates for the crops you want to grow.
Additionally, never forgo mulch. Also, reach out for help if you feel like you are not succeeding. There are so many people who want to help. Gardeners are very generous people.
WHAT WOULD YOU GROW IN YOUR DREAM GARDEN IF CLIMATE WAS NOT AN OBSTACLE?
I love this question. Tons of figs and tons of roses. This is not really a climate issue, just more a space challenge. However, the one thing I covet to grow more than anything is a Himalayan poppy called Meconopsis. It is a blue poppy that I find incredibly beautiful. Arizona is the absolute worst climate for it though. There is no way I could ever create the conditions it requires to grow and bloom. For now, I have to content myself with looking at pictures of meconopsis on Instagram.
Follow Ayshica:
@SolitaryBeeGardens
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