Managing travel and gardening

Working on programs for National Geographic Television made me crazy some years. Yes, it was my dream job since high school, but like clockwork, when the warm weather finally arrived, I went north. Everything was green and gorgeous at home in Coram, yet I went towards the snow. 

One absolutely gorgeous May, I situated hundreds of tiny basil plants to survive without me in case of a frost, then headed up to Jasper, Alberta. We all know how crazy May can be: One minute it’s bright, blue skies and perfect temperature; the next it’s blizzarding. But that particular year It was downright hot, and the little plants baked while I was away. I was the one who froze. 

Another year, a trip to Denali was necessary shortly after I put everything in the ground in June. So after months of tending to the plants from seeds to seedlings, I planted them, watered one more time, and said goodbye for several weeks. Alaska is undoubtedly beautiful and the wildlife opportunities abound, but I grumbled when I had to put on my parka because of snowstorms.

Returning home was like Christmas morning, as I was anxious to see what survived. For the most part, everything did well, including the hundreds of basil plants, but the weeds thrived just as much. As much fun as it was chasing grizzlies, being a gardening nomad was tough. 

After a decade of travel, it was nice to be home. I ramped up the gardens, pushing the envelope learning what grew well - and what died an agonizing death in my outlandish experiments - to make the most of our short seasons. But now the pendulum is swinging the other way and I’m itching to be in the mountains. And the crazy thing is I want to head north!

Transition is difficult, especially having my feet in two worlds again. For the past several years the gardens have languished as we traipsed off to Glacier or the surrounding trails. Every time I came home the weeds were bigger, although I am figuring out that piece of the gardening maintenance puzzle. 

I discovered the flame weeder is a particularly satisfying tool to use in between hiking trips, at least until the risk of torching the entire neighborhood is too great. (As one of my goals in life is not to end up as a headline where people point out my stupidity, the flame weeder will only be used early in the season.) 

Unlike my former gardens, which were raised beds built out of stone, my current garden standard beds lend themselves well to be covered in a weed fabric with drip irrigation underneath. That will eliminate much of the weed issues later in the season, and will handle the watering aspect of the garden, making nomadic life much easier. 

The other difference with traveling now is I won’t be gone for weeks. If I could sneak away for 4 days I’d be ecstatic, but most of the excursions are day trips or just a couple of days. For the most part, the gardens can survive these short periods of neglect. 

To quote John Muir, “The mountains are calling and I must go.” The gardens at home will take care of themselves, at least to some degree, while I enjoy an even more beautiful one.