Tiny Wild Gardens

Somehow life always seems to get more complicated than we expect. Wildlife gardening's like that -- you start out wanting to save the world and end up trying as hard as you can to save a few caterpillars and a bird in one tiny corner of your yard. You wonder if it's all worth it; if the small amount of land you have available (or your porch patio) is really going to amount to anything in the vast scheme of the world.

The answer is, yes, even a square foot of land can make a huge difference. One of the things I've been reading about that many of you may enjoy is something called "square foot gardening".

Square foot gardening is just that -- growing plants within a one square foot area. This isn't exactly container gardening, for they're not growing the plants in containers but rather in very small plots of ground and the focus is on what's called "biointensive gardening". You'd be amazed at how much produce you can get from such a modest little garden -- I know that I certainly was!

Biointensive gardening is actually a fairly old practice, popularized about 25 years ago by a gardener named Mel Bartholomew who proved that people could grow a lot of produce in a small space by incorporating some of the following techniques in their gardesn -- double-dug beds with soil loosened to a depth of 24 inches, the use of compost, spacing plants close together, and using companion planting so that plants can efficiently use nutrients, light and water, and creating a mini-ecosystem in the garden. As with many organic gardening enthusiasts, they use open-pollinated seeds (no hand-pollination) to preserve genetic diversity.

It's actually less work than other types of gardening. Because plants are spaced tightly in staggered rows, there's less of a chance for weeds to establish. Because beds are raised, it's much easier to keep the grass out. Because it's small, it is possible for someone to raise enough flowers on a tiny plot to make a small but significant impact on the neighborhood. Because it's a lot less work than a larger garden, it's more enjoyable for someone who has great ambitions and little time. Because you can more carefully control the little garden, your success rate with new plants is often much higher.

Square foot gardens designed to attract butterflies are a delightful way to enhance the look of your front yard. Here in Texas it's a popular landscaping idea to border the walkway to your home with a pair of these small gardens, greeting the visitor with a patch of color and a scattering of butterflies as they enter the walkway to your home.

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