The Traditional Garden

Photo courtesy Flickr

A graduate student in landscaping told me about a classic English garden practice: to leave the dead stalks of perennials in place over the winter. They house welcome predators and break the wind around tender new shoots in early spring.

I have grown very fond of the subtle color and gentle lines of dead yarrow, dock, and oregano stems. They meander along the front walk, and I can look at them every time I use the main door. Last summer’s blooms look like delicate metal scrap by February, and it’s nearly time to mow them flat in anticipation of green-up.

Last night I wanted some oregano and wandered into the mushy Seattle landscape in search of the flavor of a hot, dry Greek island. Oregano there was, to my surprise, tiny flat rosettes almost like mushrooms crouching tightly at the base of a miniature forest of stalks. It was easy to pinch off enough to season the gumbo, and I was grateful not to have to run to the store. I was even more grateful to have guessed right about what was growing and how it had been protected from recent freezes.

I don’t water this part of the garden: it is composed of native plants, tough herbs, and a small area of turf that grows thicker and more resilient each season. I believe not irrigating produces tough stems that weather beautifully rather than collapsing into a soggy mass after the first storm in October. This is another in a long line of examples of how acting to protect the environment, in this case by conserving water, brings unexpected benefits-attractive winter foliage and a fresh herb-and saves labor and cash.

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