Sunday. It is raining! The abnormally warm temperatures are melting our one snowfall, and now it is raining. My husband cleared away the storm drain on our road and he is now investigating the liklihood of helping the drainage in the backyard. Our newly planted lasagna beds did raise the beds slightly and I think the photo gives you a hint that they are surrounded by water. The water is the deepest at the western end of the garden where we continue to think about hugelkultur beds. We even have the promise of some cut down tree trunks that we can put to good use in those planned huglekultur beds. Keep watching during the march into spring..
The rain has been torrential. Even though we can see the water is moving into a (slow) drain, it has gotten deeper. I think these photos will be helpful in the spring when we are trying to find ways, including hugelkultur, to manage the rains. Right now, Tuesday, I am wondering how long we’ll have to wait before we can go ice skating.
If you want to think of warmer and prettier things, I want to remind you all that my book The Roses at the End of the Road is on sale all this month for $10 with free shipping. Just send an email to commonweeder@gmail.com to order with your mailing address. You can read a sample chapter here.
When we get a deluge here all of the paths are full of water. They drain quickly to the back of the garden but it is a real mess in the mean time.
I realize you’re not planning to replicate the floating gardens of Xochimilco, nor are you trying to recreate an archipelago of garden vignettes, but I like the way the beds, slightly raised, seem to be floating in the icy water. Bearing in mind that too much water, like too much of anything, is not always a good thing, I also in drawn to your watery garden because it surely must be what drought sufferers dream about. The pictures of your garden in snow and freezing rain emphasize the underlying plan of the new garden, and I suspect we’ll see, in a few months, evidence that the plan is a sound one. Wear your Wellies!
I live on a very wet lot. There is an underground stream under the north side of my home that feeds to a branch of the Rouge River behind me. I was out pulling some weeds on Saturday and it was nothing but mud out there. Sunday the temps started dropping and now everything is covered with snow. Good luck with the drainage. I’ve been coping with mine for over 40 years.
Lisa – The water here will eventually drain, but very very slowly.
Flaneur – We will indeed see the results this spring and summer.
Denise – There is an underground stream beneath the yards on our street, but I’m not sure where it empties. There are a number of streets in town with this same problem. Keep watching for drainage projects.