Blue Castle Garden: Year 9

In 2013, I decided not to bulldoze Blue Castle Garden off the face of the earth. It was a difficult decision to make knowing that changing course and correcting my many mistakes would take years. 

With time away in the mountains, I began to see what I had missed all along. With renewed purpose and clarity, I set about transforming my failures into what Blue Castle Garden would eventually become.

 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Removed Underperforming Plants

My lovely mother being my personal hero. Not a word of complaint or “I told you so” but all the help I needed with huge doses of positivity. I truly won the parent lotto. 

Started Eradicating Weeds

It boggles the mind just how quickly weeds will grow in fertile soil when left undisturbed. I grew lush dandelions many would covet for salads and vibrant thistles florists would love in bouquets. I was clearly an exceptional weed gardener. 

When a garden is left for just a couple seasons untended, the worst consequence is the sowing of thousands of weed seeds. Even with consistent effort, it took over 3 years to eradicate these weeds and their progeny from the garden. 

This reminds me of the abandoned venues from the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. It’s got the same sad, desolate, overgrown look.

Not only weeds took over, even good plants poorly positioned and neglected became overgrown. I felt like Indiana Jones hacking through the jungle getting to the back yard.

This section of my garden blueprint shows the plants at their mature sizes and precise locations in the streambed area. 

CHALLENGES

Feeling Like a Failure

This kind of a train wreck can feel utterly embarrassing, particularly if you’ve had some success early on. What can you say to people who ask about your garden? I felt massive shame admitting it was a total disaster.

There were still solid structural elements hidden beneath the mess.

A few perennials bravely peeking out.

The streambed was choked with weeds. 

Plants fought each other for space. 

The bridge obscured by toppled delphiniums.

Delphiniums poking out from among the weeds. 

Dandelions and quack grass infested both the lawn and flowerbeds. 

Yarrow behaves like a second cousin to dandelions. It self-seeds like crazy. 

DISCOVERIES

Free Plants are Easily Given Away

Through my work’s Buy & Sell board, I gave away plants by the carload. To be kind to the recipients, I only gave away plants that were healthy, disease-free, resistant to pests, non-invasive and didn’t self-seed. It’s unkind to transmit your gardening woes to others.

Nana Dwarf Arctic Willow has lacy foliage that catches the wind.

As beautiful and healthy as the willow was, its fine texture and future size didn’t suit my plans.

Looking down on Lake Annette in Paradise Valley, Banff National Park, Canada.

Majestic mountains surrounding Paradise Valley, Banff National Park, Canada.

Standing on the shore of Lake Annette in Paradise Valley, Banff National Park, Canada.

Looking down the valley from Rae Glacier in Kananaskis County, Alberta, Canada.

Canoeing through Weaselhead Flats in Glenmore Reservoir, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Fall colors in Sheep River Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada.

Sheep River Falls in Sheep River Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada.

Mount Sarrail towering over Rawson Lake in Kananaskis County, Alberta, Canada.

Sentinel Pass overlooking Paradise Valley, Banff National Park, Canada.

REFLECTIONS

After great reflection years later I believe this was the key point when I finally became a garden designer and not just a plant collector. Only with hitting a brick wall and failing miserably could I begin to see clearly.

Blue Castle Garden would have never reached my vision for it if it had sailed on in mediocrity as in the previous “good” years. I had to stop prioritizing individual plants and instead focus on the overall design. This year was the cure for that.

At the time I felt like an abject failure. But I believe this is the most encouraging post on this website. If I can turn around a garden so entirely off the rails as this one was, so can anyone willing to do what is hard, but necessary.

This post is part of the Blue Castle Garden Timeline series.