Annie Novak had a farm Ee i ee i oh!

And on that farm
she had some vegetables

Ee i ee i oh!

With a carrot here,

And a tomato there...

Raise the Roof:
Annie Novak
NYBG Winter Lecture Series
March  2011
Agriculturalist.Activist.Artist.
a

Annie Novak gives off good vibes.  She is founder of Eagle Street Farm and Growing Chefs.  As of March 2011, she is the Assistant Manager of the Family Garden at the New York Botanical Garden and consultant to Lake Tanganyika Floating Health Clinic.

Eagle Street Farm facts:
6,000 sq. ft.
200,000 lbs. of soil

$10 sq. ft. to install
soil composition: 
60% organic material,
40% clay and shale
4-6 inch soil depth
chickens
bees
vegetables

We are used to people talking about transparency in relation to politics, but not in terms of farming.  Annie Novak practices transparency:  "Everything we do...  we talk about it... we blog about it."  Whether its using local human hair as a mulch or inter-cropping or making compost tea or using rabbit manure.  Failure or success, Annie puts it all out there.  Even her farmers market is bottoms up marketing.  Her vegetables are not packaged, she wants people to see the color of chard and radishes.   "What we sell is as close to being in a raw state as possible." 

Using what you have is something we all aspire to.  Novak shows us the way.  Her kale was attacked by aphids.  It could not be sold.  They washed it, roasted it, resulting in Kale Chips, packaged (the exception) in brown bags with the recipe on the package, so you can make too! 

all of the above photos courtesy of Annie Novak

In addition,  Annie Novak, runs a CSA with whole and half shares, an apprenticeship program, free classes at the farm, and in 2005 began Growing Chefs.  Her intention:  to make kids into ecological eaters. 

She recently returned from Lake Tanganyika looking into the possibility of partnering with The Floating Health Clinic, an organization bringing health to isolated communities on Lake Tanganyika.  Her idea: to add a vegetable garden of the roof of the barge.

Annie Novak read a passage from Wendell Berry:  The Pleasures of Eating
"The industrial eater is, in fact, one who does not know that eating is an agricultural act, who no longer knows or imagines the connections between eating and the land, and who is therefore necessarily passive and uncritical - in short, a victim.  When food, in the minds of eaters, is no longer associated with farming and with the land, then the eaters are suffering a kind of cultural amnesia that is misleading and dangerous..."

http://growingchefs.org
http://rooftopfarms.org
http://www.ecoliteracy.org/essays/pleasures-eating

 

 

It's All Energy: Robert Irwin

ROBERT IRWIN KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Parsons School of Design, April 1, 2011

"I was doing large abstract expressionist paintings a la James Brooks.  A fellow painter invited me over for dinner one night.  He collected rare Japanese bowls. If the karma was right, I might receive one of the tea bowls.  For dinner, we ate  Campbell's Pork and Beans out of a can.  The evening was going well.  After we finished eating, my companion put a small wood box on the table.  Japanese tea bowls are traditionally wrapped in hand-made wood boxes tied with ribbon.  I opened the box, inside was a pouch containing the bowl.  Tea bowls are small, you can wrap your hands around the circumference.  I went home with the bowl.  I realized that this diminutive bowl had power and energy.  I began to think about making small paintings."

This story illustrates the kind of "lecture," "talk," "conversation," Irwin is famous for.  Sometimes you follow it and sometimes you feel lost trying to make the connections that he does.  But most of all what Irwin does is ask questions.   "We make the world.  How and in what way is what I do."

Less is more.
-Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

Less is more when less is the sum total of more.

-Robert Irwin

Less is more only when you understand more or less.
-Phyllis Odessey

Greenfingers: Nanette Hudson

Gardener, Nymans 

National Trust  Garden,UK

I met Nanette Hudson during the summer of 2010, when I worked at Nymans as part of my Royal Oak Fellowship.  I never made the time to sit down with Nanette and ask her all the questions I wanted to.  Finally, through email, I asked the questions and received the answers.

Nanette (age 4) and her sister helping out her Dad in the garden.

PO:  Why are you a gardener?

NH:  When I was a child I used to help my parents in the garden.  It started when I was about 3 and the back garden was primarily given over to vegetable growing.  It was a regular fun activity to help my Dad lift potatoes, scrub the soil off the carrots or pick berries for a pie.  My siblings and I were given a small plot each in which we were allowed to do anything we wanted...to distract our 'helpful greenfingers' away from the rest of the garden, I later realised.  My plot consisted almost entirely of a massive Forsythia shrub I was reluctant to prune and I always felt great pride in seeing my 2 meter garden completely weed free and totally over manicured.

As I got older the needs of the family changed, the vegetable plot was grassed over to create more play space for 3 active children and I took it upon myself to mow the lawn.  Every Spring my Mum would plant up the patio containers and hanging baskets with tender fuchsias and trailing petunias, she loves color!  I'd go to the nursery with her and then help her plant up the display, usually in the sunny intervals between heavy April showers.  As summer rolled on the first thing I'd do everyday upon returning home from school was to get out of my uniform, head straight to the garden and water the pots.  I used to love seeing them grow and knowing that my watering them was essential to their survival.

Although becoming a gardener was never an obvious career choice for me, I knew office work didn't suit me.  I felt that my work was pointless dealing solely with a computer screen and voices on the end of a phone.  At the age of 26 I needed a more satisfying and worthy career.  There was a deep draw towards protecting the environment, being outdoors and doing practical work.

Nanette at Nymans on the Massey Ferguson

PO: Can you tell us something about your education as a gardener.

NH:  Whilst searching for a new career I focused my attention on organizations such as English Heritage, the Environment Agency and Forestry Commission, charities or government bodies that work to conserve and protect our heritage.  All of them wanted vocational qualifications or prior experience, neither of which I had.

I had a degree in Psychology and Sociology, but was finding that I kept hitting the same brick wall.  This was until I looked on the National Trust website and came across a scheme on their training page, called Careership.  It was paid, 3 year placement in an historic garden that would give you not only practical skills to a high standard, but also allow you to study for the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) level 2, a theory based, respected qualification.

The door to the gardeners "headquarters" at Nymans

There were also practical certificates for tractors, spraying and brushcutters that were all paid by the National Trust.  You could be any age, needed no prior knowledge or experience and would graduate with all the necessary credentials to go straight into a professional gardening position.  All you needed was enthusiasm and a desire to work hard and learn.  It was a fantastic opportunity that I would never have been able to afford otherwise.

The inside of gardeners "headquarters"

I was placed at Nymans in the South of England.  Here I studied NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) levels 2 (basic practical skills) and level 3 (management level horticulture).  I went to college 5 times a year.  College was based in Reaseheath, a four hour drive north of Nymans.  We attended college for 2 week study blocks at a time so 10 weeks a year were spent studying at college.

Here we learned the theory to accompany the practical skills and gained machinery certificates too. 

Iconic View of the garden at Nymans

PO: Give us an idea of your day to day routine at Nymans.

NH: Nymans is a 33 acre garden with 350 acres of wider arboretum and woodland, 11/12 members of garden staff and 3 volunteers per day.  Being such a large garden we rely heavily on machinery to get all the work done.  Hedge cutting alone can take 3 months during the Autumn and into Winter.  We train all volunteers so they can not only develop their skills, but so that they feel part of the team and take ownership over the work too. 

The bamboo garden designed by Nanette in 2009.

PO:  Tell us about the Bulb Project.

NH: Nymans developed a conservation plan 2008-09.  One of the suggestions made was that Nymans needed more colour throughout the year.  To address this a bulb collection was proposed.  The emphasis of the collection would be on tender bulbs with inclusions of some rare and unusual speciments.  There are 5 beds around the garden that have been allocated for this project.  I was assigned this project in late 2009.  

This is one of the bulb sites.  Beds either side of the steps leading up to the pergola. 

I knew almost nothing about bulbs and the cultivation and management of a large collection.  I threw myself into research, I looked through catalogues from our regular plant suppliers, but soon realized I was going to look further a field for more unusual bulbs.

  From left to right: Leucocoryne 'Andes' (April -May), Ixia 'Giant' (June)
and Alstroemeria 'Freedom' (July -November)

 Research took ages, constantly back and forward with ideas, progress came in little steps.  As well as ensuring that the bulbs get the right growing conditions, I also needed to create a border that gelled in terms of design.  This was the hardest bit.  I placed my orders late in the summer of 2010.  Spring flowering bulbs are all planted up in their terracotta pots.  I have designed each border so it will have color from Spring through Autumn.  When one variety has gone over, it will be lifted and returned to the nursery and be replaced by next bulb in the display.

This site is one of the more prominent sites, located in the knot garden by the house.  The Ceratostigma willmottiaum pictured here has already been lifted.  In this bed there are a huge number of bulbs planned for display.  Here are a few:

Gloriosa superba 'Rothschildiana' planned for the summer months.
It will climb up wires on the wall to give display height and informality.

Lycoris radiata.  A difficult bulb to grow...you must be patient and persevre with it.

Bessera elegans, a delicate bulb that will flower in Autumn and requires lifting in Winter.

Nomocharis aperta requires cool damp conditions
ideal for the spot in the border under the shadow of the Yew hedge.

PO:  Plans for the Future

NH: I have been gardening now for over 4 years and I love it as much now as I did when I started.  However, it is not a well paid profession and to earn more, especially in historic gardens, you must progress up the gardening ranks.  This is appealing for some, not for me.  

To continue my education and practical gardening and be able to earn a sustainable living which allows my partner and I to plan for the future we are planning a rather radical and unconventional move into running a smallholding.    Alongside chickens, bees, pigs and cows we hope to raise, we plan to have a great fruit and vegetable garden.  This will be a huge learning curve as I have never grown fruit or veg.

Then alongside that we're planning a wonderful garden that we could open on specific days offering guided tours and tea, coffee and cake for paying visitors.  So I would be my own manager with huge potential for learning ...and I still get to get my hands dirty!

What more could a girl want?

Nanette in Italy doing research

I could want nothing more from any interview.  The completeness and honesty of Nanette's responses are indicative of her personality and her gardening style.  Without her companionship, knowledge and friendship, I would have been lost at Nymans.  Thank you Nanette.

P.S.  Nanette is a great baker.  I look forward to biting into one of her cakes soon.

A Piece of My Mind: Margaret Roach

Who am I if I am not
mroach@marthastewart dot com any longer?

I have lived in Vermont for 30 years on a dirt road, up a long, unplowed driveway, pulling a sled with groceries, heating my house with a single wood stove, and making a garden. When I speak about living in the country, I feel confident, I know what I am talking about.

Margaret Roach is a force.  She is authentic, intelligent, well-read, well-traveled, well-humored, well-googled and she can definitely put two or three words together without taking herself too seriously.  I have heard her speak, read A Way To Garden, and regularly visit her website.    I like the whole package.  I pre-ordered And I Shall Have Some Peace There and waited for the volume to arrive.
I  finished the book in two sittings.  It's only 260 pages and a fast read. 

"How did I go from SHE WHO LIVES IN THE WORLD to she Who Lives in the Woods, navigating a slow route between the West Side Highway and Valley View Road, where instead of potholes, ruts deeper than the wheel wells shape up to punctuate multiple mud seasons each year?"

How she left her corporate job, moved to the country and made a new life for herself is the subject of this new book.  It is her homage to a "post-paycheck life." Margaret Roach is honest about her struggle to live in a small house, with no partner, no friends (at first) just a cat.  Margaret describes her journey:"jumping ship from a luxury liner into a lopsided-but-nevertheless-floating rowboat." There is more about the weather in this book than about the garden.  Birds, frogs and snakes are given long passages, well-researched passages.

If you have left a job (maybe not a six figure job), but a job you felt stuck in, to take up residence in the country, this book has a lot to say to you.  And if Margaret doesn't, she quotes myriad people who have plenty to say.  As I was whizzing through her book, I kept a piece of paper by my side with a list of books to read. 

 right to left:  Bob Dylan, John Cage, Francis Bacon
Buddha, Joseph Campbell,  May Sarton.
  All quoted in Margaret's book.

At a certain point, Margaret's new life really begins.  From this point on, the book is about LIVING, paying attention, taking a breath and understanding..."there is no where to be but here."  Roach makes a list of changes: bedtime enjoyable, no dread of Sunday night, essential handheld device idle, tasks related to food pleasurable, meditative quality to living.

"... I feel at home with letting the hours and even a whole day unfold, taking reassurances where and when I can get them, from whomever surfaces as the latest in the series of messengers."

For those of us, who have lived in the country and made a decision in our early twenties to stay in a rural place, this book may not speak to you.  I find myself in this group. Margaret Roach uses a lot of adjectives, adverbs and phrases to describe herself:

 restlessness
impatience
  skipping ahead 
unstructured
impermanence
phobia
fearful
powerlessness
living inside my head
scheduleless
 self-imposed shut-in
living too much inside my intellect
overactive mind 

I found the writing in the book mirrored all of these words and phrases. Even though she nails certain dilemmas, like "You know you've really moved to the country when you have your first local haircut", she doesn't seem to be able to focus the writing.  Roach uses many metaphors in the book related to Buddhist teaching and practice, ATTENTION, ATTENTION, yet that is exactly what her writing lacks.

I couldn't help comparing the role of writing in my life (although, I am sure I don't succeed) with Margaret's.  Writing is exactly what I find centers and organizes my thoughts.  It's all about ATTENTION.  It's about connecting the dots.  It takes restlessness and turns it into quietness.

MAGGIE'S FARM
Bob Dylan

"Well, I wake in the morning,

Fold my hands and pray for rain.

I got a head full of ideas

That are drivin' me insane..."

Margaret Roach has found her there.  I found mine a long time ago.  It's peace in the world and in my own head that has proved a lot more elusive.

Margaret Roach ON GARDENING:

"To be a gardener is to come face-to-face with powerlessness (not something written anywhere in the corporate mission statements of Martha or my two previous employers), and to cultivate patience as actively as you do botanical things."

"I know only one thing for certain about gardening now, thirty years in:

Things will die."


"...Whatever you don't kill makes you stronger, though and hungrier for more plants and then some more, and so this imprint deepens:  Curiosity becomes interest, interest becomes hobby, hobby becomes passion, passion becomes life's work, and even spiritual pursuit - the stuff of the heart."

**********************

"I am no longer a commercial laundry into which others put coins and get results." 

http://awaytogarden.com/

If You're Depressed, You're Not Working Hard Enough...

This is how James van Sweden described his Dutch upbringing.  His father was a builder; a man satisfied with his work.  He made things.  van Sweden's take away: a desire for satisfaction with the work that you do.  He found it in landscape architecture.

How our childhoods inform the work we do has been of interest to me for years.  van Sweden recalled his walks along the railroad tracks of East Lansing and time spent at the shore of Lake Michigan as major influences on the landscapes he would later create.  These prairie-like typologies dovetailed with his university years in the Netherlands. The flat, luminous, delft landscape remained a powerful  influence on his work in the garden.  Anyone who has walked through a van Sweden garden understands his affinity for light and the unfettered in the landscape.

  

Jacob Van Ruisdael

Chicago Botanical Garden.  Photo from Oehme van Sweden Associates

The occasion for the van Sweden film was The Cultural Landscape Foundation presentation:
a celebration of
James van Sweden
Landscape Architect

The film is the fifth Oral History module produced as part of Pioneers of American Landscape Design Project, produced by the Cultural Landscape Foundation.  After the film several clients and colleagues had stories to tell.  After some DIY, Carole Rosenberg, a long-time client, who owned a house in Watermill, hired van Sweden to design her garden, her directive:  "We want a garden that looks like it has been designed by God. And James gave it to us."

For more information about The Cultural Landscape Foundation:
www.tcif.org