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  • From: "Simon St.Laurent" <simonstl AT simonstl.com>
  • To: fingerlakespermaculture AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: permaculture of the ditch
  • Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:00:56 -0400

On 8/11/10 2:19 PM, Green Singer wrote:
I didn't realize there were other folks on the list from Varna--hi! I
live on Freese Rd., next to the 'abandoned' blue house next to the slag
heap on the corner.

Great! The slag heap's gotten a little smaller, but not enough. Varna's also a place with some amazing gardens, though many are in the backs of properties that are long and thin.

I've noticed a large amount of coltsfoot doing well

Coltsfoot is an excellent idea. It flowers way before the mowers come, and doesn't seem to mind getting run over. There's a fair amount under the F.H. Fox bridge on 366, and I have lots of it on my property.

under the situation you described, as well as daylilies.

There are lots of daylilies. The problem they have is the mowing. Once they get mowed, they seem to disappear for the year.

If you've
already got elder, you probably have a fair amount of water, and so
irises and Joe Pye weed should do well, along with other shady/swampy
plants.

I have Joe Pye weed next to the driveway, again, just up from the mowing. It's survived when I've mowed it in the past, but stops being interesting quickly. Irises might be fun too.

With a little forethought, you could probably have the area
flowering year-round.

I'm working on that for the hillside above the ditch. Even if it's not flowering per se, I think I can safely make it a more interesting "132' of frontage" than it is now.

> Are there any other functions you'd like to fill
with the space (privacy/noise screen, wildlife/animal fodder,
discouraging litter with sharp pointy things, etc.)?

The main one is really making it interesting for pedestrian passerby and drivers too.

I'd rather discourage animals, as drawing them near the road seems to create unhappy stories for all. We like the view across the road (Cornell Plantations land), so I'm not really looking for screening. Litter, so far as I can tell, comes from the cars, not the pedestrians, so sharp pointy things aren't much use unless they can affect vehicles moving at 45mph and higher.

As noted before, I'm not very comfortable growing food here - there's just too much unpleasant stuff coming off the road, and has been since long before I got here. It's been a travel corridor for a thousand years or more and an active road for over 210.

--
Simon St.Laurent
http://simonstl.com/




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