When discussing the “bones” of a garden, gardeners are not speaking literally about skeletal remains. Instead, they are referring to the structural components that define and unify a garden’s aesthetic design. These features become particularly apparent during fall and winter when trees shed their leaves and the flowers and plants that once provided vibrancy and color wither and decay.
After hearing how much fun we had during our April trip to Surf City and Topsail Island, my husband decided that he now wanted to go in June to celebrate turning the big 4-0. So we packed up the children and started on the 5-hour drive down to the beach.
One of the activities that we like to do as a family is hiking – we are diligently working our way through the NC State Parks Passport book, checking off all the state parks we visit. The southeastern part of the state has been a dead zone for us – lots of parks but not a lot of opportunity to visit them – so we decided to take advantage of our trip to check some off.
While riding around one Saturday to pick up some geese, my husband drove me by one destination in particular that stood out to me from researching this area before moving here – an archeological site dubbed the “Berry” site. Named for the family who owned the property, it is the location of the 16th-century Native American town of Joara where a Spanish fort was built.
Autumn is here, in all of her splendor, and it is a sight to behold. The cooler weather creeps closer and closer as the length of daylight decreases, the leaves turning their decadent shades of orange, red, yellow, and brown before flooding the ground beneath the trees. The lushness of our summer gardens has faded, leaving us with the skeleton of our plants and the remnants of our waning harvest.
As the days cool and winter draws near, I like to put my garden to rest. Of course, we grow some kale here and there and usually our garlic is planted in October, but I use December/January/February to really take a step back from gardening. As much as I love gardening, it’s nice to have a respite from it, though I typically use that time daydreaming and planning the next garden.