Garden Growing Wild

Deep down we all know when our surroundings feel "right." When our house or our landscape or our town feels peaceful and coherent or discordant. 

We know when we walk through nature it feels calming, and all too often man-made things are unsettling. 

In his book A Pattern Language, Christopher Alexander lays out over 200 hundred patterns that can help us make things that are more peaceful, functional, and aesthetically pleasing.

One pattern jumped out at me straight away when I picked up this book at my Permaculture Design Course 18 years ago. 

Garden Growing Wild. 

In this pattern, Alexander lays out a vision for a different kind of garden than we are used to. A garden which uses natural principles to grow and maintain itself. A permaculture garden. 

A garden which grows true to its own laws has a life and a magic of its own. It does not need constant tending, but is arranged so that the natural processes support what is growing there instead of threaten it.

We can choose plants and place boundaries in such a was that the growth of things regulates itself. This takes a bit of forethought and design.

A garden growing wild is more stable and healthier, requiring less time and chemicals. It also creates a more profound experience for the gardener, who becomes an occasional participant rather than enslaved by the garden. 

This pattern was my inspiration for my garden at the Williams Street Farmhouse, my urban homestead in Anchorage. It was a garden that drew people in and inspired them. It produced tons of food and so much beauty.

It works. 

This is why I encourage my students to get out of the box. Literally, let your garden out of the raised bed box. It will never grow wild there. 

And then I teach them how to design and plant a wild garden that works for them. 

Is your garden growing wild?