How to Read a Garden

On a rainy afternoon just like this one, I ran across this quote from the Roman Stoic philosopher Cicero.

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”

Being both a gardener and a writer, as well as a librarian in a past life, I fully agree with this sentiment. Being also a bit of a skeptic when it comes to internet quotes, I did a little research into these words. The general agreement is that Cicero did write these words in a letter to a friend. The literal translation is, “If you have a garden in your library, you have everything you need”. Many, if not most, homes of wealthier Romans had inner outdoor courtyards with a garden. So in this context, the literal translation may be the correct one.  

In my case, the literal translation may also be the more apt one. Most of my Life has been spent with books and gardens. Even my career has revolved around the the worlds of plants and words. They have informed each other, shaped how I see the world, and helped make me who I am today.

Gardens and libraries are both repositories of information. The written, spoken, and filmed words you find in today’s libraries bring the world’s knowledge to anywhere there are people seeking to learn. A garden brings the experiential version of much of that knowledge. Let’s call it an interactive library of science and art. So the two concepts support one another. You may experience some natural or man-made phenomena in a garden, and go to the library to find out about it. Or you may read about/hear about/see some amazing garden at the library, and then go and see it or try to recreate that effect. However the approach, the effect will be some wisdom gained.

And knowledge gained and applied, multiplied by the experience of using that knowledge, is in fact, a type of wealth. The designer and philosopher Buckminster Fuller offered this idea as a definition of wealth. We are always learning more and experiencing more. As we apply this knowledge and experience to our lives through our actions, we become more wealthy.

That’s certainly been my experience. Through my time spent in libraries and gardens, I have learned how to feed myself by growing, cooking, and eating lots of fresh food, how to heal myself by growing and using all kinds of vegetables, herbs, and flowers, how to construct shelters using plants and soil, how to provide money for myself by growing food/flower/fuel/fiber plants for others, and how to heal local and planetary environments by growing/planting/using plants. The biological processes alone could keep you busy learning, teaching, and doing your entire life!

Add to that the artistic and spiritual knowledge and experience you’ll find in a garden. I often say that gardens don't just feed our bodies; they feed our souls as well. We’ve all experienced the restful coolness of a forested garden. The riot of color in most flower gardens stimulates us and lifts our spirits. As we gain the confidence to create our own gardens, we have the opportunity to indulge our inner artist. Our creative nature is engaged, and new parts of the brain may even be activated.

Just as a well-loved book will have worn, stained pages, a well-loved garden will have worn paths to certain areas, often stained with the blood, sweat and tears of the gardener. Special sections of both books and gardens will be easy to find. That's where the most attention goes. Follow the most often used trail in any garden to see what the gardener enjoys most. Find the most dog-earred pages in a book to discovered the most treasured passages. In either case, the  knowledge is where the wealth is, because that’s where the Love is.

Remember to enjoy your garden (and your library), because THAT’S what makes you a successful gardener.

The Successful Gardener Says: Go Forth and Multiply

The process is simple enough: Dig a clump of plants, then pull, cut or break the sections apart into the size you want, then replant.

This Old Testament admonition to the children of Israel is a call to action for gardeners in the Fall. While more gardeners are always welcome, in this instance, we are multiplying the plants in our garden. Many perennial plants can be divided into several new clumps of plants. “Wait a minute”, I can hear you say, “you said we were to go forth and multiply. Now you’re saying we have to divide! I know there’s new math, but I’m pretty sure multiplication and division are two different functions.” In math, that is true. But this is a post about gardening, so I can use the terms literally, not arithmetically.

Seriously, Fall is a great time to divide perennial plants of all kinds. The process is simple enough. Dig a clump of plants, making sure you have adequate root system in the clump. Then pull, cut or break the sections apart into the size you want to plant. This could be a simple division into two pieces, or multiple divisions into individual plantlets. The first divisions can be quite hard, especially if you’ve let the plant increase for several years without division. Some plants are naturally difficult to divide, like Siberian Iris. I’ve had to use a pick and an axe to dig and divide them. But as you loosen the root ball (which is rarely ball-shaped, BTW), the individual plantlets will loosen their grip, and it gets easier.

Plants will bloom more profusely when divided. Irises of all kinds give you more blooms after division.

Why do we divide plants, if it’s so much work? There are “multiple” reasons, of course. First, we all want more plants, and why not create our own? For some plants, division is the preferred method of propagation. If we want a specific hosta cultivar, that’s how we get one. Many plants grow better over time if they are divided occasionally. Shasta daisy, one of the premiere plants in The Living Garden, will decline over the seasons if not multiplied ever few years. Plants will bloom more profusely when divided. Irises of all kinds give you more blooms after division. And if you have a very vigorous plant, division is an easy way to keep it in bounds.

I’ve written earlier about multiplier and walking onions. If you haven’t harvested, divided, eaten (some of them, anyway), and replanted some of these perennial vegetables, it’s time! Asparagus, however, will be much easier to divide once all of the foliage has died back.

You can wait a bit on other plants, too. Hostas, irises, and daylilies are a bit easier to divide once the foliage has gone dormant. You can, of course, go ahead and divide them now, if you want, but it will put more stress on the plant.

One more tip for you. Make sure that you get roots and crown with each division. If you can get some “eyes” or buds for stem growth the following season, though these aren’t always visible. In making sure you get all parts of a plant, you will have a much better chance of success in your planting.

Get out there and divide some of your plants in order to multiply the opportunities to enjoy your garden. It’s that enjoyment that makes you a Successful Gardener!!!

Article and photos by Jeff Rieves