Installation

Today is the first day I have not consulted on, hauled, planted, moved, seeded, mulched, composted or put together anything on the Terraces. It’s truly the end of the first phase – the installation is finished for the season. 
All the plants are in – including the seedlings we started in April inside the house. There are over 30 varieties of vegetables, herbs, vines and trees that we planted in the space. Most of them – from the Hill Country Red okra, to the Schisandra vine are edibles or medicinal plants. It is satisfying to see the seedlings and the plants in the ground after so many years of dreaming, planning and designing. As the terraces mature over time, I look forward to new discoveries.
The day most of the plants were put in and the compost was spread, twenty to thirty yellow swallow-tail butterflies appeared. They moved from spot to spot where ever there was compost. It was amazing to see their progress across the terraces and field – moving to an internal jazz riff and then back together as if pulled by a steady bass line. Those butterflies were visual music to me. Music that makes me think of one of my favorite Georgia O’Keefe quotes: 
I want real things – music that makes holes in the sky. 
Happy Almost Summer everyone! 

Yellow Swallow Tails

Front View

Vegetable Beds


Vine Sculpture
Detail of Steel Bed Patina

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