The Devine Garden Tour

Don and I recently met a really neat couple, Ulla and Mike Devine. They live on a beautiful farm in the Kootenay area and our friends Mosaica and Pontifex did some wwoofing for them last year. Their time spent with the Devines led to Ulla purchasing my Delightfully Raw book and eventually contacting me. (Don't you just love how people are brought into our lives in all kinds of intricate and magical ways?)

They're both retired teachers and Ulla now practices as a Colon Hydrotherapist. Her passion for health and wellness has led her to extensive research of and personally experiencing various fasting methods, cleanses and detoxification programs. Not surprisingly, at some point along the way Ulla discovered the healing power of raw and attended the Ann Wigmore Living Foods Institute in Puerto Rico.

Anyhoo we finally managed to get together with Mike and Ulla for the first time a few weeks ago and we hit it off right away. For years Ulla has been holding the vision of offering an opportunity for local people to experience the benefits of a detox retreat without having to pay an exorbitant price and go to an exotic destination. Together we'll be bringing this dream to fruition at the three day Raw Radiance Retreat which will take place this September here in the heart of the Slocan Valley in BC, Canada. There seems to be a wonderful complementarity between the two of us and so far everything is falling into place effortlessly, which is a mighty good sign. I'll be telling you all about the retreat in my next post, so stay tuned for all the details!

We visited Ulla and Mike at their lovely home near Nelson last week to bounce off ideas about the retreat and take some shots of Ulla for the event's poster. Mike also gave us a tour of their amazing vegetable garden and fruit orchard. Their property lies in an East-West valley which means they get lots of sun; a perfect haven for growing produce.

I was startled to discover this little plaque depicting St Francis at the garden's entrance, as it echoes almost word for word the intention that I voice every morning when I wake up: "May I be a pure instrument for Peace, Light and Harmony on Earth."

I could hardly believe the bounty already in evidence, especially since I planted my own garden quite late this year, what with the deluge we've experienced this spring and early summer. Everything was absolutely thriving!

Potatoes

 

Beets

Snowpeas

Zucchinis

We'd never EVER seen such gigantic and happy tomato plants! They were even taller than Don! lol

Lettuce

Mike plants more lettuce every 2 weeks so that they have an ongoing supply.

I picked up all sorts of helpful techniques and tricks just by walking around the garden. For instance every year Mike sets aside about 1/4 of his garden fallow so as to replenish the soil. He also designates certain plants for the purpose of harvesting their seeds - hence the red tape in the next picture.

A lettuce tree! ;-)

There's also a large number of fruit trees, berry bushes and grapevines around the property; certainly our idea of heaven! ;-)

Pears

Cherries

Gooseberries (I think!)

The blueberries were almost as big as grapes!

They sent us home with a few containers full of raspberries. Yippee! Such a delightful treat!

Red raspberries

We'd never had yellow raspberries before and just fell in love with their delicate flavor, not quite as tart as their more common red cousins.

Blackberries

Mike was shaking his head in amazement at the sheer amount of blackberries this year. "This is crazy," he said,"I've never seen anything like it!" They're not ready yet but boy, once they ripen it will be Blackberry Fest! ;-)

And of course there's a variety of gorgeous, often edible, flowers to be found around the garden.

Speaking of which, Ulla picked these nasturtiums for me, thinking that their color perfectly matched my dress.

But 'nough talk about gardens, I better get going in order to play in our own! Again this year we have the privilege of having a few beds on a friend's property not too far from where we are camped. We're not growing a lot of veggies, mostly beets, carrots, potatoes, snow peas and snap peas, lettuce, chard, summer squash, tomato and basil. I'm such a novice when it comes to gardening but I'm slowly learning. And nothing can beat the thrill of watching plants grow into delicious veggies, a reminder of the true miracle that Life is!

What about you? What have you got growing in your garden?