Lois de Vries' Garden Views

The things that appear in our garden have meaning to us, for example that statue of Kwan Yin, goddess of compassion. Kwan Yin has held a place in my life since my teen years. I always liked the ideal of compassion, something we all could use in greater measure. Since I have a special sense of compassion for animals, it seemed fitting to put her where they could visit. Kwan Yin was not easy to come by. Few statues of this scale and style are available. In some, the quality of workmanship is so poor that Kwan Yin looks ugly, or scary. This Kwan Yin was perfect for me, but I couldn’t afford her. As we left the shop empty-handed, I said to Dan, “If she’s still here when we come back next year, I’ll know that I’m meant to have her.” Through 365 days of rain, and snow, and dead of night, Kwan Yin waited --- just for me. And I kept my promise by taking her home. She occupies a place of prominence in the garden, where she can be seen from every room on that side of the house. While I made t...

For those of us who are not blessed with a garage in which to store our refuse until “garbage day,” there is the problem of how to hide, or disguise, these unattractive, utilitarian objects for the other six days of the week. Whether you call them trash cans, garbage cans, or dust bins, it’s not as if they can be placed in the center of the lawn with a flower pot on top and be made into a focal point. Recently, I saw this simple, inexpensive, and elegant solution: The trash can enclosure is built in as a seamless extension of the fence. Stockade fencing runs the length of the common property line. A simple bumpout of shorter fencing (either purchased or trimmed down from the perimeter fence) is equipped with a latch and two hinges. Matching sides, barely deeper than the cans themselves, are fixed to two uprights already in place for the perimeter fence. The trash cans are placed on a bed of gravel, which if underlain by landscape cloth, will keep weeds at a minimum. Many times I’ve ...

Yes, that’s me at a recent ceremony hosted at the New Jersey Center for the Performing Arts in Newark, where I was awarded the prestigious Jefferson Medallion for Public Service for my work advancing local environmental causes. On my left is Sam Beard, co-founder of the Jefferson Awards and President and CEO of the American Institute for Public Service, and on my right is Ed Selover Executive Vice-president and General Counsel, Public Service Electric and Gas Company, who presented for the environmental category. Most of our residents don’t realize that Andover Township’s geology has created a number of habitats within our town that are unique on the planet. Keeping those safe in the face of impending development and lack of understanding has been an uphill climb. My fellow environmental commissioners have offered unflagging support during my seven years in municipal government service and some township committee officials have had the foresight to understand the importance of eva...

Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky tacky, Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes all the same. There's a green one and a pink one And a blue one and a yellow one, And they're all made out of ticky tacky And they all look just the same. Malvina Reynolds wrote it, Pete Seeger sang it, and for the past several weeks, I’ve been having to look at it as I drive by a housing development where the foundation plantings all look just the same. There’s a red one, and a yellow one, and a green one, and a gold one, and they’re all made of invasive Japanese barberry, and they all look just the same. There are no fewer than a half-dozen of these homes with the same landscaping, side by side, visible from the road. The primary difference between them is the color of the dyed mulch. One could argue whether the cultured stone on the façade of these houses should be considered a “natural” look. However the largest portion of each of the lots is in conservation ...

Benziger Winery is not just another pretty vineyard. As we strolled around the visitor’s area waiting for our tour, I was immediately struck by the presence of fruit trees and huge clumps of lavender planted among the vine rows. This, we later learned was all part of their biodynamic farming process. Biodynamic farming is a system of sustainable farming expounded by Austrian philosopher Rudolph Steiner in the 1920s, that goes one step beyond organic farming. The farm is viewed as a closed system in which all materials necessary, such as manure and animal feed are produced right on the farm, and all farm “waste” is recycled. As it plays out at Benziger’s, the vineyard has a natural advantage for creating such a closed system: It is a bowl that is completely enclosed by mountains, with the Sonoma Mountain volcano (extinct) on one side. Variations in the natural soil compositions lend themselves to supporting a wide variety of grapes. After careful study, the Benzigers plotted out...

Choosing the right place to stay when traveling makes all the difference. Our drive to Sonoma allowed me to experience California as I had never seen it before --- green. We wound our way through cow country, through the vineyards, getting lost a couple of times. As dusk approached, a certain nail-biting tension arose in the rental car. “Can’t we just stop and ask that guy over there?” I asked. Silence. The car kept moving. Then we discovered rush hour in the countryside --- trapped in the commuter traffic returning from San Francisco. We arrived at Beltane Ranch http://www.beltaneranch.com/ just as the sun was setting. No phone, no TV, acres of grapevines and olive trees, comfortable rooms, a spectacular breakfast, a wood fire to take the chill off, and a wonderful garden. We were too early for the roses, but there were late daffodils and tulips, lush hellebores, exuberant jasmine vines, live oaks with Spanish moss, and euphorbia, which I determined to grow in my own garden. This ...

In March, Dan and I ran away to California. We needed to escape politics, grant-writing season, and winter, plus Dan wanted to visit friends and family. He lured me by promising a visit to wine country, good food, and a stay at a bed and breakfast with a garden. I had never been to San Francisco, so we did all of the touristy things, and enjoyed the warmer weather. What’s SF without Fisherman’s Wharf? We had an absolutely fabulous lunch overlooking the Bay. We visited the new-ish Maritime National Park, consisting of historic ships moored in an enclosed harbor, as well as the Maritime Museum. We toured the Balclutha https://pwrcms.nps.gov/safr/historyculture/balclutha.htm probably the only time I’ll have the chance to board a large sailing ship. I have to say this is one of the best uses of taxpayer money I’ve ever seen. We eavesdropped on the local kids’ class tour and there was wonderful play-acting by the interpretive staff, who engaged the children in hands-on activities. Th...