“To dream a garden and then to plant it is an act of independence and even defiance to the greater world.” ~ Stanley Crawford
My humble garden before Ian was very simple, yet very functional to start. At first, I just started with some seeds and some soil and began starting seedlings inside my home and in my lanai. This began at the end of 2019. The enclosure (which I didn’t start until 2020) was comprised predominantly of pallets, t-posts, rebar, screening (stapled on the inside of fencing made from pallets to keep critters out-in theory), chicken wire, and some other fencing, along with one gate.
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In the above photo, you can see the outer chain link fence was still a fence and had not yet grown to be the living bee wall that it was. The enclosure was 18’x27′, so relatively small but still adequate to grow enough food for myself and my family-I hoped. It was perfectly imperfect. Over the past three years, it grew to be quite beautiful in its simplicity and was very efficient.
Inside the garden enclosure, I utilized chairs to hold the totes to create small raised beds that were up off the ground to protect from most of the critters that could get at them. Additionally, there were a couple of raised beds on the ground, made from bookcases, kiddie pools, numerous large pots, and even a turtle sandbox (which thankfully made it and will be in the new garden). It was modest but it served its purpose.
I found that the best way for me to get started in a simple and cost-effective way was to grow in plastic storage totes. Upon research, I found this to be a safe and effective way to grow food in my garden. I learned this information initially from Robbie of Robbie & Gary Gardening Easy (via YouTube below). I was so grateful to learn this along with so much more from this channel! If you do not yet know about Robbie & Gary, I suggest you visit their channel for profound, genius, yet simple advice!
Robbie has been successfully growing in them (and many other things) for years. I learned so much from her and her husband Gary. She really is a GENIUS in the garden, they both are. I just adore them!
Over the years it evolved and ultimately I got rid of the beds that were directly on the ground because of nematodes and deterioration of the beds. This led to only growing in the containers. My new garden will be comprised mostly of raised beds but I am doing all I can to prevent the nematodes. I will have a section where I have a few totes to grow in, just because they really do work so well!
I kept learning more and more things from so many channels and online resources that it was just amazing to me how much information we have available to us at our fingertips! Whenever I can, I will share where I got the information from but I have forgotten some of what I learned from where. Let it Bee Garden will hopefully become a valuable resource for many others as well!
The more I learned, the more I grew, and the more I knew the more I was hooked. My desire for growing food created a voracious hunger within me to gain, utilize, and share as much knowledge about gardening and ecosystems here in Florida as possible.
I started enjoying the success of the garden so much (still with many challenges) that I thought about starting my own channel. I thought, what the heck? Only, I ended up not having/taking the time to put the effort into it. Since I had just started being a Realtor, then 2020 happened, along with so many other profound challenges for that year. Then, 2021?? I am still not sure where in the world that went. I know we all felt that in many different ways. The point is, I didn’t do it. I didn’t do that and allowed the garden to stay in its “experimental”, yet fully productive form. Hey, if it isn’t broken??!!
I started finding everything that was in and around my garden to be a fascinating gift each day. Even when I would learn of a new pest or other challenges in my garden, I found it to be a gift. Despite the fact that it often didn’t appear that way! I knew that I needed to learn all that I could to not only help myself and my family by growing the food but also assist with the development of a special ecosystem within my own little piece of paradise. I want to bring the pollinators and help to support them throughout their life cycle. I also really want to help others with their own gardens.
Like this Green Orchid Bee (below). I will never forget the first time I saw these bees in my garden. I was completely mesmerized! The first ones I saw were much more blue than green. Until I reached an expert on blue bees on Facebook, I thought they were a type of blue bees (this was due to the wrong images attached to an article). Once I learned that it was a Green Orchid Bee I was still super stoked. They are so beautiful! I love metallic things and these do not disappoint. They don’t seem to mind me a bit as I am filming them or just admiring their task and beauty. They absolutely LOVE eggplant flowers. So I will always grow eggplants! We are rather fond of eggplants anyway so it works out well.
@letitbeegarden I am missing my garden terribly. It was my solace, my therapy, my joy. My garden was not my home and thankfully my own home is mostly intact. I am beyond grateful for this every day. My heart aches for the losses for so many. Please keep safe and getting better. No, my garden was not my home…However my garden was home to many, many creatures including this very special green orchid bee. I am in the process of getting my own home repaired and rebuilding My garden and making it bigger and better than it ever was before. Instead of an enclosure, my garden will be my entire backyard. I have no doubt that many bees including the green orchid bee will be back to pollinate And enjoy their very own little ecosystem, their piece of Paradise. #beestrong #englewoodflorida #englewoodstrong #gardenjoy #zone10a #garden #pollinators #growyourownfood #southwestflorida #healmegarden #mygarden #floridagardener #swfl ♬ You Gotta Be – Des’ree
I even put a bee box in my garden (have to replace it as the storm destroyed it), for any of the bees that wanted to use it. It worked well until it was wrecked in the storm (Ian). So, as time has passed, I have learned much. I originally had planned on having a garden channel/website when I first started but I allowed life to get in the way. Thankfully, I did take a lot of pictures and some videos so I will be sharing them here and via social media channels while I get my new garden up and running.
My garden produced a good deal of veggies that greatly added to my family’s nutrition. Due to the previous size of the enclosed garden, however, I never got hundreds of pounds of food. I chose to only grow one or two of a variety of things. This limited production–especially due to pest stress. With the new garden, I plan to plant SO much more and include more succession planting. Regardless, I was always incredibly grateful for the gifts that my garden gave to me and my family. Until it was broken. Into smithereens, and buried beneath insulation, shingles, twisted unknown metal, and the fence that was once the bee wall. So, broken it was.
After Ian
Obviously, most of us in Southwest Florida experienced the wrath of Ian. Many lost vehicles and/or their homes and some even more than that. My heart goes out to them continuously. I continue to be incredibly grateful that each of my family only had significant damage to our homes and quite a bit to my vehicle (a huge tree limb caved in the roof of my van but I still drive it). We are very fortunate that we did not lose more than that.
Throughout the process of mitigating the damages to our homes and vehicles, I contemplated. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do about my garden. I seriously considered not starting it back up. After seeing how completely destroyed it could be, I really wondered if it were worth the effort. I recalled all of the challenges of the past three years of learning how to garden in this incredible paradise. Doing so certainly allowed me to place my garden in a holding pattern. So, I let it bee…for the time being.
The only problem with that was that I longed for my garden. I missed the time each day in nature that didn’t have to do with cleaning up debris, meeting with adjusters, contractors, etc. I missed my anoles, butterflies, dragonflies, birds, and all the other critters that the garden afforded me each day. I SO missed my bees!
Knowing that the bee wall was no more, I worried about the bees. I did not want them to leave. Not that they would entirely, of course, and they would come back if they did. Regardless, I missed seeing them each day. So, when our “Florida Snow” popped up, for the first time, I actually let it bee. Totally! I let it completely take over my backyard. I did mow the front, eventually, and grudgingly. However, the backyard was theirs and they absolutely LOVED it. Every day the flowers were covered in bees, it was glorious. When they die off I will plant wildflowers in the same areas.
Meanwhile, we all managed. Once we were at a place where I felt good about thinking about my garden I removed it from the back burner. Like with most things I do, I weighed my options and did my “pros and cons” list. I looked at it from all angles-figuratively and literally. Additionally, I talked about it with friends and family for input.
I did, for a moment, entertain calling my new garden the Garden of Ian. However, I didn’t really want the negative connotation associated with my beautiful garden. Despite the fact that I wanted to show that even out of something so horrific, something new and full of beauty can grow, I just wanted a better feeling attached to it. What better than the bees that have a great responsibility for much of the success of the garden? So, I thought I’ll just Let it Bee, and so that is what it is.
My decision was to fully rebuild the garden, only this time use the entire yard. Which was what I wanted to do “someday” anyway. Most of us know how “somedays” end up more often than not. Ian completely knocked us on our bums. The storm has pushed me to seek more solace in my life. To seek more of what my garden gives me. because of this ordeal, I have decided that I want to focus completely on what gives me peace, and joy in my life. So, I am going to focus on my garden. I have decided to make my garden the focal point of not only my property but also my life (after my family of course).
my previous garden, the day of Ian
The Beginning of the New Garden
My precious new garden is finally moving in the right direction. Perhaps with great challenges that did not exist before but also with great momentum forward that was previously lacking. Why must we get thoroughly thrashed when we aren’t doing what we really want to do?
Let it Bee Garden is now fully underway. The fabulously functional old garden may have been destroyed on September 28, 2022, but the new and greatly improved one was established, in December of 2022. I have so many of the supplies and have been working on the planning and replanning. At the time of this post, I have built and brought 7 of the many beds out into the garden and placed them where they will live.
I am in the process of purchasing starts and starting many things from seed to plant. You can see what I am planting in January and find what is right for your zone here. Additionally, I have included and will include other very interesting things in my garden, such as my Monarch Project. So stay tuned!
