Observation
Our maples are slowly deepening in colour for autumn. For the past couple of years we have watched them almost fall like dominoes, sequentially down the driveway. It is something we look forward to. Watching and waiting for them to change each year is an observation that tells a lot about the weather conditions. The most easterly of the trees has shut up shop chlorophyll wise, well ahead of the others - completely crimson. In this case, as the observations stack on one another, the excitement becomes a bit of concern. Earlier change could be down to stress, and there has certainly been a change in conditions due to clearing on the neighbouring property, so we have a few further observations to make.
Effective observation is knowing how to use your senses, and is expedited by knowing what to look for, though this can be made up for with good record-keeping and research. There is a lot of fun to be had on a winter’s afternoon diving into a rabbit hole of reading based on wilting in the garden (I think that would make a good band name). The best part is that the more you do, and the more considered you are about it, the better you get.
Permaculture design is a living design, not just in the sense that it consists of living things, but that the design itself will grow and change. It will be lived by the people and other organisms on the property. Observation then, the thoughtful and protracted kind, becomes something of a superpower when making decisions. The principle of applying feedback comes into play, as we must accept nature’s feedback and decide how to respond, but unless our observation skills are up to scratch, important communications from our garden might be missed.
Autumn, coming into winter, is a wonderful time to make notes in the garden. Typically, here in the Hunter we cannot always follow the patterns that a lot of garden literature covers. We experience our lowest rainfall period from July to October (unless occasionally there is torrential rain courtesy of an east coast low in June). Watching the garden thrive with less rainfall, but also lower solar radiation, can tell us that a lot of our summer troubles are because of the intensity of the sun, and are not necessarily going to be addressed through an intensive watering schedule come Summer.
Have you noticed a change in wind patterns? Growing up in the Hunter, we always knew August to be gusty by name and nature. Our experience is that September and October have produced some howling days the last few springs - an observation that changes your seedling preparation. I am sure our members likely know, spring here in the Hunter is our windiest period, on the back of our driest period. Not exactly the conditions that the September gardening catalogues would have you think.
Aside from the macro-patterns, the greatest effect comes from observation of your microclimates around the garden. Have you noticed that spot no longer receiving morning sun now that we are past the equinox? You might be wishing that the evergreen on the north side was deciduous at this point. We are quite fortunate to have the ability to nudge conditions anywhere from cool-temperate to tropical, here in the valley, with judicious plantings that will control angles of sunlight, trap sun or frost, and indeed break the wind. I would love to hear about the amazing microclimates that exist across our properties, identified by observation and knowing the space we grow in.
A calendar, a notebook, your phone and camera are all great tools to prompt you in the garden. A photo diary that you can compare against over the years is quite useful, and is how we came to notice the behaviour of our maples in the first place. I encourage you to add something new to your garden observations this winter, and apply nature’s feedback as the garden grows.
April, 2023
Paterson