Wild Garden

Reclaiming an overgrown garden.

The previous owners of this property left us a very long note. Where to get sand for winter. Who to call to plow our very long driveway. Where the septic cover is. Sorry, the note said, that they had not rototilled the garden this year and that it was overgrown with weeds.

Indeed. When we moved in end of June the weeds were shoulder height in the herb garden. Other than dill, which was absolutely everywhere, all else seemed to me like an indiscernible green thicket. I brought my herb book into the garden, grabbed handfuls of dill for drying, and whacked all the rest at about knee height.

This operation revealed isolated clumps of sage, lavender, chives, and catnip, which I mulched around. In the months since, as some weeds grew back, other species turned over as the weather slowly cooled, and I've been able to identify more of what's floating around in the garden. Many of the most prolific weeds in the garden are species that appear to have been introduced intentionally. They include:

• Tansy

• Comfrey

• Mint

• Dill

• Yarrow

• Sheep Sorrel

These are just the weeds that I've identified so far. I'm not sure what the idea was, here. My herb book tells me to be careful with them. "Self-seeds prolifically." "Impossible to get rid of once established." "Difficult to control." Among other warnings. But, alas. Up to my neck in these varieties. I have good uses for mints and dill, I can experiment with throwing some sorrel in salad.

But the rest are not edible. I've been taking bundles of tansy and hanging it in doorways to repel insects with indiscernible effect. I've been chucking piles of comfrey into my compost because it makes a good source of nutrients. Maybe one day I'll kick myself for not having kept more yarrow around.

Slowly, I plan to reclaim this garden. Already, the lavender is looking healthier since the weeds have been cleared out around it. I've planted rosemary, thyme, and parsley. I've mulched an L-shaped strip near the apple tree for my Ruth Stout experiment. If it goes well this fall, I will extend this mulched area to the rest of the garden. I'm adding a stone path along the center aisle. I will cover the second raised bed with newspaper and ready it for planting next spring. This is the current state of the garden going into fall:

I wonder if there is any chance in corralling the dill weed into a confined area. I would really like to plant some chamomile, lemon balm, chrysanthemums, for tea. There are two more fenced in gardens this size: a flower garden, and a garden which I can only identify as an asparagus and strawberry garden. Not far along on those at all.