There is a wonderful book, called A Garden for Life, The Natural Approach to Designing, Planting and Maintaining a North Temperate Garden, by Diana Beresford-Kroeger, who lives in Merrickville, near Ottawa. Diana hails from Ireland and her husband is from South Africa.
I think it's fair to say that it helps to have imagination and creativity to adapt from either the Irish or the South African climate to a rural home near Ottawa.
Diana advocates a 'bioplan' for gardens. That is to say, a design which accommodates the needs of living creatures should be integral to every garden.
The pleasure of gardening is not limited to flowers, foliage, berms and hardscaping. It includes, for example, the lovely little grosbeaks who show up to eat seed heads at this time of year.
Diana plans gardens to provide habitat for a variety of creatures, seeing every garden as part of an ecosystem.
She uses both native plants and reliable perennials, which originated in other parts of the world, such as peonies, irises and lilies.
A career scientist engaged in research, Diana undertook gardening as an antidote to a stressful, time-gobbling occupation.
Her writing is fluid and conversational but there is no mistaking her science credentials.
She writes, "We are poisoning our natural world with the chemicals we created for the battlefields of World War I and World War II.
"This is continuing to happen with the widespread use of 'designer' pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, and hormonal compounds. Ironically, the chemical balance of nature is being destroyed by such chemicals introduced in unbalanced amounts. This balance must be restored if our human species is to survive, let alone various plant, insect and animal species.
"This must be done because all evidence shows that these man-made chemical compounds developed to 'enhance' nature are killing us slowly, now trapped in the molecules that make up man.
"We, the community of gardeners all over the biosphere must lead the way, rethinking what we are doing."
Her book offers garden design drawings, marvelous photos, lists of plants, their characteristics and where to use them.
She also writes about the composition of soil and the benefits of a lush garden to the health of the air around it. Sharing thorough scientific knowledge in a very readable way, facts and recommendations can be understood by any reader.
Diana writes beautifully about the animal creatures inhabiting the garden and gives useful examples of how to encourage them.
The book has a chapter on natural garden controls for pests and a wonderful glossary.
This is a book for the gardener in your life. I received it as a gift in the summer and have saved it for the pleasure of reading, making bioplans to dream of over the winter and to share with you.
