About the Author
Introduction
Greetings from my sunny front yard in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. It is late spring, and the cool season grains are beginning to dry, making their statement all the more vividly. On this particular day, the breeze is strong and the humidity low. The sun sparkles and the cloudless Carolina blue sky provides the perfect backdrop to reflect on my grain journey.
As I kneel on a soft patch of turf to inspect the wheat, I realize that grass is one of the last remnants of the “normal” landscape I inherited upon moving to my home in 2010. A decade ago, I could never have imagined the possibilities this former tobacco field would bring.
The freshly mowed lawn serves as a lush green stage for the spring show of grains as they turn amber. The arching stalks of barley, oats and wheat wave in the breeze and glow in the sunshine. I’m daydreaming of what this space will look like in September when it is replanted with warm season grains such as corn, rice and sorghum. The possibilities are endless.
Today is a day to dream, give thanks and reflect with gratitude. It’s a day to take note of the simple moments, like a bee buzzing overhead, and appreciate the beauty that surrounds me. It’s a day for me to hope that my ramblings will influence others to take up this great hobby of gardening and to perhaps inspire a few folks to toss some grain seed into the earth and experience this same joy.
No question, I am more than a bit unconventional. Some may consider my style “natural,” or even “chaotic,” since a gardener’s hand isn’t always obvious in what I do. But in reality, these plantings are carefully planned, planted and managed from sowing to harvest. This diverse assortment of plants does not happen by accident. These dynamic colors and textures create a show that is visually intriguing and offers a compelling story and sense of place.
I’ve been a professional horticulturist and home gardener for twenty years. Early on, I learned that the only certainty is you will never stop learning from growing plants. No two seasons will ever be the same. Gardening is the opposite of Groundhog Day, which is why it is such a special way to spend your time. You will fall in and out of love with different plants over the years as your life and garden change. You will have more or less time to devote as your journey ebbs and flows, but I encourage you to experiment with new plants as often as possible and treasure the simple moments spent in your paradise.
If someone had told me even five years ago that I would be investing my time and energy into writing a book on grains I would have explained that “No, I am a woody ornamental propagator,” and walked away. But then one day you wake up and try something new and your world gets that much bigger.
That is what Gardening with Grains is aiming to achieve. I hope you will consider things you haven’t thought of before and challenge your creativity as a gardener. I want you to dream big, beyond your home and neighborhood and imagine the impact that we can all have on shaping and nourishing our communities. But most of all, I wish to whet your curiosity and invite you to grow something new, in a different context – and enjoy the process along the way.
~ Brie ~
One
My Grain Journey
Like most home growers, I started as a L traditional flower enthusiast. Now, twenty years into my life as a gardener, my approach has evolved. Most importantly, I want my act of gardening to improve the environment in which I live. To do that, I have had to re-evaluate my use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides and prioritize soil improvement above all else. It was through these studies that I first became aware of grains and how valuable they could be for making my garden flourish, naturally.
To start this story I have to first explain how I came to be “the Crazy Grain Lady,” with an 850-square-foot area of my front lawn turned into a grain bed. It didn’t start off that way. In fact, when I was drawing plans for that initial (non-grain) garden installation in my front yard, I simply sited a few favorite small trees in a sweeping line to mimic the contour of the foundation landscape. I had seen this technique used to create a screen and divide a lawn into two defined zones, one viewed from the street and the other a private area near the house. Considering that our suburban lot is deep and rather narrow, this seemed a logical way to maximize planting space without eliminating too much turf.
When we broke ground on the garden in January, 2011, the trees were planted as individual specimens, free standing and not connected by a bed. After a few months of trying to maintain the constantly spreading centipede grass around them, my husband, David, and I decided it would be smarter to connect the tree wells with a small bed of native ornamental grasses, namely, Muhlenbergia capillaris, aka pink muhly grass. This would look beautiful and reduce our efforts to keep the turf from invading the roots of the newly planted trees. Plus, it was a native grass, so it would thrive, right? But first, we would need to dig up a lot of the invasive sod to make room for our muhly grass.
Pink muhly grass thrives in my dry landscape beds.
NOTE: Not every landscape endeavor is meant to be a DIY project! In this case, we hired a landscaper with a turf cutter who expertly removed the sod in perfect sections, ready to be transplanted elsewhere. Sure, it cost money, but it was done correctly and completed in one day. Honestly, the turf would still be there if we had decided to make this a do-it-yourself project. Having worked in the landscape industry for a number of years, I have learned a few things about working smart instead of hard. I cannot stress this enough: Hire a professional for the jobs that seem too big for you to do yourself. There are a number of reasons for this – namely, professionals have access to the correct equipment for the job at hand, and they know how to use these tools and complete a job quickly.
Aidan helped me measure the beds so they could be drawn to scale.
Once the sod was removed, I was left with a blank slate of bare sand. Have I mentioned I garden in a former tobacco field? Yes, I live on the sandy side of North Carolina, which has its benefits and drawbacks. One thing I never expected was how wet it would be living on sand. Sure, logically you think sand will drain fast, and yes that is true, unless you live where the water table is very high. Here, we live with the opposite of gravity, known as hydrologic pressure, meaning water comes from below. When the water table is saturated, the soil is too. It makes sense that all of the surrounding cities have the word “spring” in their name, as after a heavy rainstorm water will literally spring out of the ground.
This reality led to many plant deaths, because for too long I was trying to use my conventional wisdom about drainage.
