process – Wellyssa's Womb

Fire

Working my way around the Dragon garden, creating elemental representations in the space. I was mesmerized by the Chihuli Exhibit at the Denver botanical Garden’s last year and have wanted to put up a wall of fire in my garden ever since I saw the one they had in their exhibit.

Chihuly exhibit, Denver Botanical Gardens, 3/2015.

When we built the curved bridges to go over the dry river beds we had a lot of wood left over, and several pieces that were either spear shaped or had a curve in them, due to how the bridge was laid out. I asked Brian to trim them up in curvy, flame-like shapes. He did a great job. they sat around in buckets out behind the house for a year, till I got around to doing this project as one of our community work days.

Curvy cut pressure treated wood, for the flames

Before everyone came over Brian and Dug out trenches to delineate the space, laid out the weed barrier and then held it down with the pressure treated 2x6x10’s.

Trenching out the edge of the fire installation bed

Laying out and pinning down the weed barrier fabric

We had to hold the wood down in a vice to drill the 3/8″ holes into the wood, then we took them outside and had one person stand on them while another person pounded in the 3/8″ rebar. This was really hard to do! When they were done, they were taken to the fire display area and placed into the ground through the fabric.

Pushing in the wood flames, and painting them

I placed the longest flames first and then the medium and then the shortest.

In charge of cutting the fabric and pushing in the flames. Rebar had to be pounded into the ground first to make a hole.

We painted the flames with neon, outdoor paint, they glow in the sun shine. Darkest colors at the tips and yellow and white at the bottom to symbolize a white/hot heat.

All the flames are in place

We added 2″ of 2″dia lava rock throughout the flames to finish off the look. It’s amazing, you can almost feel the flames. Actually, something to know about lava rock, it holds a LOT of energy, myself and certain others can’t get within 6′ of it without getting dizzy. You can feel the movement of the rock, like a lava flow.

Garden of Pain

I wanted to create a space in the garden for contemplation of what is painful in life. Gardens to me, sometimes feel like these extra-ordinary , falsely contrived paradises, where everything is prefect, where there are no weeds, and where people walk around smiling. All that is very nice, and I must say that I love going to the Botanical Garden and reveling in it’s perfect beauty.

But my garden is a sacred place, and a place of transition and transformation. Here I honor life in all it’s phases, in all of the seasons, both beautiful and harsh. Here I honor love and joy, pain and sorrow.

I have a special place to meditate and commune with the land spirits and with the Fey, I have a space to celebrate and dance and drum in joy and companionship. I also need a space to experience paid and sorrow, stillness and solitude. This place I have named The Garden of Pain. Here, I leave my pain and failure, my sorrow and my worries.

I walk upon the path through the exceptionally thorny Rosa Rugosas and contemplate that which pains me; I walk the path as the thorny branches of the Locust and Russian Olive reach out and catch my clothing, reminding me to stop and not proceed through so quickly.

Here I leave my tears for the Fey and for the Roses to feed upon.

The beginning

The stones are being placed in the middle of the sanded walkway because I am planning to add a mixed media design around the central walk way, on both sides.

The materials will be in congruent and installed over time as they are discovered or acquired.

Turning the corner was difficult, the large stones had to be cut with the tile saw so the corner could be accomplished.

A gap is left on either side of the cobblestone dry river bed.

On the right, the two sections end 2′ before the dry river bed stones. Eventually, there will be a bridge here to connect the sections while allow-ing overflow from the pond and/or water feature to move through the GoP and into the main dry river bed drainage system.

Red stone is set into the sand in a graceful arch to connect the end of the granite stone walkway with the beginning of the Garden of Pain.

These stepping stones bring you into the Garden of Pain. Some will hop-scotch their way in, while others will spend time walking from Sephira to Sephira.

Looking towards the western end of the GoP

the end of the pave stone, connected to a footer at the gate

Brian built this simple arch way/trellis to support the gate and the Jasmine vine that is planted on either side of the gate.

The western Gate into, or out of, the GoP

Phase 1 complete, more to come.

Welcome dears, Come on in, soak the sand with all your tears,

prick a finger on the thorns, and bring an offering the path adorn.

Water feature?

I’ve been designing elemental gardens at the edges of the main sacred space, between the Dragons. I’ve been having trouble figuring out what to do for water. What I want is a shallow fountain that will continually circulate water and mist it downward from a trellis-like support above. I’m still trying to talk my husband into that idea.

I set up some temporary bird baths to bring water to the area instead. Then I noticed that the city was cutting down a large dead cottonwood tree at the end of the block. So I asked Jester (who’s time I paid for) and my fired Don to come over and help me get enough log segments out of the ditch under the tree to make a better display in the water feature.

We dug holes to stand the logs in, according to the individual size of each log, added some gravel for drainage and tucked in the logs.

Don and Jester unloading the logs and setting them in the holes

cutting to size and cutting off the pockey parts

I filled a set of fancy matching pots that I have been saving for the right project with spring bulbs, and then tucked them inside of some larger black plastic pots, adding mulch for insulation between the pots.

Stumps in the ground, pots filled with bulbs, waiting for spring.

The fancy pots will get dug out of the bigger pots and placed on top of the logs. Their flowers reaching upwards and green vines hanging down mimicking water flow. we’ll have to see what it looks like.

After the bulbs faded, I replaced them with annuals. (2016)

Building the Fire Circle

This project took 3 weekends. We acquired ALLthe lumber for FREE from the Vestas Wind Turbine bone yard. Apparently, the big turbine engines, which run the wind machines, comes into the U.S. from Sweeden on giant wooden pallets. Not like a standard pallet, these pallets are made of 6×6 hardwood timber and riveted together with nuts and bolts. Very heavy.

You can go out to the bone lot, check in at the gate, and carry off anything that will fit in your truck or trailer. Seriously, I wanted to haul a semi-truck load of wood outta there – but – then we’d have to do something with it, and Brian’s got a huge to do list in front of him already.

Measuring and marking where the bench legs will go

we’re using rebar drilled into the ground to hold the benches level while the concrete sets.

Benches painted to match the house, Weed fabric installed, then 3″ of crushed granite, 3/8″ size

3 sing to me	4 of your desire!	5 Circle round
2 the ring of fire		6 1-2-3
1 Circle round	8 So Mote it Be!	7 As we will it

Butterfly Garden – Better and Better!

Everything takes soo much time! But I finally feel like I’ve accomplished something when I look out the back window at the garden. Sometimes, I look at the garden and all I see is the weeds; sometimes all I can see is what is still missing. I have to remind myself where I started.

Here’s where I started – in case you missed it in my previous posts:

So now, onto what’s been accomplished in the Butterfly garden!

Walker’s Low, Pink Diascia, Shasta daisy getting ready to bloom, Jupiter’s beard andpenstemon finished blooming

Mid-summer-White Daisy, blue sea holly, dwarf red rose, crocosmia lucifer, and butterfly shrub and goldenrod coming into bud.

Looking south/west from the butterfly garden, through the dragon garden, towards the orchard.

Fall: the Maximilians dominate the scene, russian sage, sedums, daisy and dwarf rose are still blooming.

Butterfly transformation

The butterfly garden finally looks like a garden. I am still experimenting with adding new plants, seeing what will thrive here, tucking things in to the bare spots.

The river rock dry water bed is complete, after two summer’s of hard work. It really delineates the space throughout the garden. The butterfly garden grows on both sides of the dry river bed, it’s the biggest garden in The Garden.

The dry river bed runs through the center of the butterfly garden.

Early spring is such a barren time in the garden. Especially after everything is cut back and trimmed. Last year when we expanded the rear patio we also added a 9′ diameter circular patio to the north west edge of the butterfly garden to provide a seating area. I drug a big heavy steel piano harp out her and propped it up next to the patio to provide a backdrop. I haven’t decided whether it will stay here or not. Looking out over the cleaned up garden, I realize I need to add some more evergreens or sculptures or something to add interest in the early spring.

Any suggestions?

As spring progresses, the butterfly garden begins to “spring” into it’s growth stage. The 4 pom pom shrubs bloom in a riot of 3″ white snow balls. Eventually I’d like to have a trellis between them, straddling the dry river bed, to provide a hidden

passageway to the circular patio. I haven’t found the right arch yet. During summer the butterfly garden really comes to life. White, red and purple predominate. I’m looking for some orange plants that will grow here and that butterflies like. It was important to me to provide a place for butterflies and bees in my garden, and I brought many divisions of perennials from my aurora garden to our new home in Brighton.

As the season turns towards fall the Maximillian sunflowers steal the show. Their yellow is so bright that they glow in the moonlight. They keep their flowers until the first hard frost.

IRON

Red Maples do not do well in clay soil. Red Oaks, or for that matter, hardly any oaks, do well in clay soil. Birches, Lindens and sugar gums do not do well in clay soil. Yet, as you drive around in Denver you’ll see many beautiful, fully mature red maple and oak trees. They are simply stunning in the fall. But the soil in Denver, is very different than the soil 30 miles north in Brighton. Parts of Brighton is deep sand and the water soaks through like a sieve; and other parts are clay, like my property.

There’s something about clay soil that captures the iron and binds it within the soil, making it unavailable for the plant/tree. I didn’t know that when we bought our first round of trees for the property: 3 red maples, 3 sugar gums, 3 white birches, 2 lindens, and 4 oaks (2 northern red, 1 Shingle and one burr). By the 3rd year (2009) 11 of those first 16 trees were dead or dying from a serious case of iron chlorosis, iron deficiency.

By fall of 2010 the tree south side maples were dead. We pulled them out and planted three more red maples. I REALLY wanted that red on the south berm. We added iron to the soil when they were planted and added iron twice a year in the deep root fertilization. By 2012 they were fading, so we added iron liquid fertilizer to the area around the tree every other month. By 2014, all three were dead, along all the oaks but the Red Northern on the north berm, 1 of the birch trees, and 1 of the sweet gums (however, the sweet gum is alive, but has not grown a single inch in 5 years).

I had to admit defeat. This was a costly lesson. Don’t fight the Mother. She has her ways, and the ways are set.

Let there be butterflies!

Among the flowers I dug out of my Aurora garden were Shasta daisies, coral sedum, maximillian sun flowers, bergamot, sunset hyssop and agastache. I knew the 12 or 15 pots of perennials I managed to divide from that garden, would not go far in my new garden in Brighton.

With 2 acres, I can plant 20 plants and you would hardly notice. But it was a start. I propped up a steel piano harp in the middle. I purchased 4 white pom pom bushes and placed them opposite the drainage trench. Eventually, I plan to put a pathway between the four shrubs, leading into the butterfly garden.

This is not the best picture, but looking to the northeast over the herb garden, you can see the beginnings of what will be a beautiful butterfly haven.

The view of the new butterfly garden space being marked out, viewed from over the herb garden fence. Sorry – this picture is really blurry.

You can also see progress and growth of the oak, birch and Canadian red cherry trees in front of the north berm, and the Austrian black pines on top of the berm. This year we also purchased a couple of bristle cone pines. I planted some shrubs as well, but they’re small and it’s hard to see them.

Herb Garden 2008

Mellissa, marshmallow, horehound, taragon, parsley and thyme

Mullien, meadow sweet, comfrey, rosemary, and a large sunflower helianthus that was supposed to be an herb.

Hyssop, fever few, rue, motherwort, chive, betony

Dill, fennel, oregano, sage, fever few, angelica, bergamot

The Herb garden is really starting to fill out, and provide an abundant harvest! Soo many cool things to do with herbs. I’ll be busy in the basement this winter.

Wildflowers

I’m slowly making my way from east to west in my garden design, but in the meantime, there’s a huge expanse of empty nothingness in between. Brian suggested we throw out some wildflower seed. At least there won’t be mud there! he said.

So we tilled up an area toward the end of the south west berm and re-leveled it. The Adams County extension office assured us that we didn’t need to amend the soil, so we decided to try it out. Just mix the seed with a little sand so you can throw it our more evenly. We threw out 15 lbs of rocky Mountain wildflower seed, and the results were beautiful.