Meditation Garden

There is something that I have always dreamed of having in my own yard. A wild place. A quiet place where I can just sit and decompress. A place to light a candle, meditate and commune with the moon. A place where birds, insects and wildlife are welcome.

The problem – I live in the suburbs of a sprawling city.

Fortunately, I have a decent backyard, not big but not small. At the south end of the yard was an empty, weedy, dead space. This is where I decided last year to begin building my Meditation Garden. I will rehabilitate the back section of the yard into a wild space. A place that will marry the prairie grasslands with the foothills. This will be an ongoing project and sooth my pagan soul.

The gardens are just beginning to wake, but I want to share last summer’s Phase 1 with you.

Phase 1 (Completed Summer 2024)

A couple of years ago we made the decision to get rid of our above ground pool and since that time the area has sat looking sad and neglected. This is the area I decided I would take over and remake into a peaceful, wild place.

The first task was to remove the eyesore used to protect the pool liner – a tarp and the sand beneath it. After dragging away the tarp and a few hours of moving sand, I took a hoe to the hard ground. Once I finished turning a bit of the sunbaked soil, I transferred some of my veggie garden soil over into the area. This worked out well, because I also wanted to add some new compost to my garden and needed to make room for it. I spread out the soil and leveled it out as best as I could. It isn’t perfect but perfect wouldn’t fit the look I am going for. It is relatively level and sloped to allow for proper drainage and that is all I think I need.

I then placed edging around a section of the southwest corner of the area and created a low berm within it. Within this area, which is to be more of a mountain/foothills area, I planted the following plants: Burr Oak, Ninebark, Ostrich Fern, and ground covers – Kinnikinnick, moss, Creeping Jenny and Dead Nettle. I then added wood bark mulch to cover any ground that is currently bare. Most of these plants will be drought tolerant once established.

On the southeast corner, the grassland/prairie side, I planted a French Lilac and a couple of Sweet Grass plants. I also planted a Rocky Mountain Beeplant but it is an annual. I am hoping it self-seeded to come back next year.

While I am going for primarily native plants, I am fudging the process with the lilac and the oak. I have always wanted both an oak tree and a lilac. The oak because it speaks to my Celtic soul and while a Burr Oak is not native to my area per say, it is native to the Canadian prairies just more Manitoba than Alberta. I have wanted a lilac for its beauty and the wonderful smell.

A couple of weeks later, after the water restrictions were lifted, we laid a bit of sod between the two gardens. Now, I am not a big lover of lawns, but at this point we do need the grass. Why? Because it covers the ground and helps with holding onto a bit of rain, prevents the baking sun from killing all the good stuff in the soil, it is a place for my dog to play, and a nice place to sit under my Oak tree. The grass seemed to take well. We also added grass seed in a few bare spots. By the end of the summer it appeared to be growing in fairly well.

This completed Phase 1.

I am now looking ahead to Phase 2. My current plan - in the still rough Southeast corner to include a couple more Sweetgrass plugs, another type of tall prairie grass, more flowers and perhaps a Wolf Willow. I am also thinking of adding edging to mark out the area but I am not sure yet. My original plan had been for it to naturally blend with the lawn but I am not sure about that now. In the Southwest corner I need to see how the current plants make out. If they all come back I will add a few more plants and possibly some alpine flowers into the area. If they don’t make it I will be focusing on replacing what was lost. I am thinking I may also need some type of fencing to keep the dog out of the areas while they get established.

I will provide an update on the garden later in the season.

Happy Growing.