First visit of the future Mary garden…

Burdock

We (Amélie, Pierre-Dominique and myself, Pierre-Etienne) spent two hours on a warm Autumn afternoon with Sebastien Banot, a professional landscape designer and consultant in historical gardens as well as agroforestry. We tried to understand more about botany and horticulture for our project to create a garden next to Sainte-Marie school (the entrance is on the “Petite Provence” street side). It will be a colourful Mary Garden made up of plants related to Saint Mary.

We also talked a little with Mr Castro who has a wonderful organic vegetable garden next to where we will plant the Mary Garden (he grows amazing Jerusalem artichokes, huge white and purple beans, carrots, cabbage, raspberries, tomatoes and even purple potatoes).

Sebastien told us that the soil was very rich and good, even deep down, and that “almost everything” will grow there. It is a sedimentary medium, with silt, a lot of organic matter and no clay.

Some of the plants growing wild are: burdock (a medicinal plant), stinging nettles, brambles, two cherry trees, and too many ash trees (i.e. lots of shoots which will have to be pulled out, something which is a bit difficult and has to be done properly).

When weeding, we must do so by hand. It is a delicate task because we must uproot the whole plant to avoid the plant regrowing the following year. To weed correctly plants with deep tap roots you have to keep your back straight and use the strength of your legs.

We need to choose plants which won’t need a lot of care (watering, pruning or weeding) because we do not have much time or money...

We must first of all make a detailed plan of the site and list what type of species we want to use (those that need minimal care and correspond to the project's spirit).

To create the desired form and style, we will have to take into account the orientation of the garden (it is on a north-south axis), the amount of light (there is a lot, but it is obviously not the same under the trees as elsewhere), and the size and shape of the garden and the ultimate height and volume of each species.

We have to think of all the plants which can live in the specific conditions of this particular part of the Auvergne. They have to be adapted to the soil and we have to consider water as a precious resource (though it is not rare here!). We will use plants which will not need constant upkeep and irrigation. Note that there is a little water channel at the top of the garden.

The principal constraints then are water, soil and maintenance requirements, and to take into consideration the basics: the seasons, the amount of light and water, and the changing temperatures. Lunar cycles are interesting but we must not make a big thing out of them at this stage… But first and foremost we will have to focus on understanding the very changeable Auvergnat weather, otherwise what we plant might get ruined.

The wire fencing, apart from being ugly, looks like it is about to fall down... Would a nice hedge not be more aesthetic and a plus for the biodiversity?

Because of the present state of the garden, it will be necessary to plough (but not too deep) and to thoroughly hand-weed so as to clear away the pieces of plants to avoid them regrowing. It is necessary to start as soon as possible. It will take two seasons to clear the undesired plants. We need to encourage particular useful plants to discourage weeds coming back (a carpet of clover is one option amongst others which would be good and very attractive, with no upkeep, plus it helps to temper the soil moisture).

Thank you to Sebastien for his invaluable advice and kind encouragements!