The demonstration gardens illustrate a variety of alternative concepts for food gardens and home landscapes. Whereas in most of the holistic garden the crops are grown in beds, in these gardens other types of planters and garden concepts are illustrated. Some of these gardens can be used to grow any type of plant while others are adapted to growing one group of plants or another and some show the use of native plants as part of the home landscape. If a home landscape has 30 percent or fewer non-native plants, it supports the natural ecosystem of which it is a part.
French Intensive Garden
It is often said that this is the most productive type of garden in terms of yield per square foot of garden space. In this garden the different types of plants are intermingled and not organized in rows or blocks. The tallest plants would be in the center of the bed or on the side if the bed is built along a wall. The smallest plants would be along the sides and ends and intermediate plants would be between the tallest and smallest plants. Also, the plants are intermingled so that there could be benefit of one type to another, both through possible companion planting effects and through intermingling of their root systems in the soil. The benefits of crop rotation are somewhat achieved by keeping members of a given plant family on one side of the bed or the other and then rotating their position with successive seasons. Of course, if there were more than one French Intensive Garden bed, this could be achieved by rotating them in different beds, but this should not be done at the expense of intermingling the different crops.
African Keyhole Garden
The origin of this garden was to teach school children in Africa how to grow a vegetable garden in a very sustainable way, with minimal purchased inputs. The garden is arranged in a circle surrounding a compost unit in the center. Kitchen scraps, animal manure and other inputs are put into the composter in the center and water from the kitchen and other sources is poured over this material to speed its decomposition and to leach the nutrients out of the compost and get them to feed the roots of the vegetables and herbs in the surrounding garden bed. The keyhole comes from the cutout area in the circle that enables one to get up to the compost structure to put the kitchens scraps, water, etc. into it. In Africa the garden would be constructed of rocks, sticks and other materials that were available. Our version has a plastic barrel with removable lid and holes cut into the bottom quarter for the water and nutrients to leave the barrel.
Square Foot Garden
This garden is based on the concept developed by Mel Bartholomew of giving each plant a precise amount of space. An 8 ft. x 8 ft. square is subdivided into four 4 ft. x 4 ft squares. Each 4 ft. x 4 ft. square can be further subdivided. In this concept of gardening the gardener does not walk on the soil, but uses a heavy board that spans from one side to the other. A monoculture in each of the squares makes it possible to rotate crops
Circle Garden Bed
This bed is versatile and will change from season to season. One season it may be a pizza garden, another it could be a Three Sisters garden, a Tepee garden, or a cut flower garden.
Container Garden
Many food plants can be grown successfully in containers. This garden is to illustrate the cultivation of food crops in large containers of various types.
Espalier
The espalier is used to grow fruit crops in a vertical plain. Currently it is planted to two Improved Meyer Lemons and a fig tree. This type of cultivation is especially suited to production in small spaces. It can be set up so that a person who cannot bend down to the ground can tend the espaliered crops.
Wall Garden
This garden illustrates how plants can be grown in a vertical space.
Rain Gutter Garden
When space is not available on the ground or pets and other problems make it impractical to grow plants on the ground, rain gutters mounted on a fence can be an option. The rain gutters are treated like containers and filled with peatlite mix.
Medicinal Plants Garden
Most herbs, vegetables and fruits have medicinal properties, but some plants are not grown as food, but for their medicinal properties. Plants are the pharmacy for many people. Furthermore, the medicinal value of most fresh produce that we consume is preventive medicine. This bed illustrates some of the many garden plants that have medicinal value.
Garden Underground Bed
About half of the volume of every plant is in the soil. Development of a root system is the first thing that every seedling does when it germinates. Below-ground structures such as rhizomes, tubers, nodules, etc. are also important to many plants. What goes on in the soil can be observed by lifting the doors on this bed. Be prepared for critters to runout if you do this and please be sure to put the doors back in place and latch them shut.
Pollinators’ Garden
The purpose of this garden is to attract pollinators to the Holistic Garden. Among the pollinators are different types of bees and wasps, butterflies, hummingbirds, and moths. All of the plants in this garden can either support adult or juvenile pollinators. Most of the plants are natives. Since flowers are important for their nectar, there is plants in bloom in this garden throughout the year.
Habitat for Beneficial Organisms
The Holistic Garden is surrounded by mowed lawn and lacks natural areas to attract beneficial organisms. Among the beneficials that are desirable are insects, such as various wasps, lace wings, lady bugs, and several species of flies, spiders and mites, toads and frogs, lizards and snakes. Most of the plants grown in this habitat are native to Texas. Having a pool of beneficials is important for our crops since it means that we have a ready, natural source of pest control.
Songbird Habitat
Birds eat a lot of insects and other garden pests. They also provide song and a special point of interest. The songbird habitat provides shelter, nesting sites, food and water for songbirds. Some, like the mocking bird and Carolina wren are in the garden year-round, others, such as the purple martins, come to the garden for the warm season or gold finches and chickadees whih come for the cold season and still others simply. Like warblers and waxwings, pause briefly on their migration.
Aquatic Ecosystem
The Holistic Garden has a very small pond as the center of the Aquatic Ecosystem. This is in the Songbird Habitat. Plants in the pond and along its wet edges provide special habitat, gambusia patrol mosquito larvae throughout the year, toads and frogs reproduce in the water and plants provide protection for the organisms living in the water. (NOTE: Gardens with ponds are regulated by the City and any gardener wanting to have a small garden pond should check on the requirements and restrictions for depth, fencing, etc. in their neighborhood.)