Paul's picture of his home when the poppies were in bloom
After visiting Paul Mercier’s garden as part of the GGC Mystery Garden Tour, I went back to get more of the story about his intriguing property. I learned that the buildings were built in 1975 as a camp for a family’s summer vacation. It had neither electricity nor running water. Eventually those modern necessities were added. Janice Vien bought the place in 2000 and added lots of trees, shrubs, flowers, and plants (including 100 Christmas ferns) until she sold it to Paul in 2018.
Janice hadn’t been back until this day, and was thrilled by what she saw. She and Paul walked all over the land discussing each plant. It was a pleasure for me to see their excitement as they strolled through the land they both love.
Paul explained that he is using the knowledge he learned from books, and the internet, and experiences with others as a volunteer at NOFA-NH and Cooperative Extension and the Grantham Garden Club. He has interesting ways of protecting his plants that I hadn’t seen before and mixes vegetables and flowers along with his fruit trees. Paul practices permaculture which emulates a natural eco-system, avoids the use of harmful chemicals, conserves resources (like water), maintains soil biology and thus fertility which has the win-win of producing nutrient-dense food.
Paul has worked hard to make his home and property self-sustaining. To water his large gardens, Paul repurposed four 275-gallon IBC tanks that formerly held balsamic vinegar or avocado oil. He covered them with six mil black plastic to protect them from the sun to prevent algae growth. One sits under the gutter on his garage where the rain water is first collected and is then pumped to the other three which sit at the top of the tiered garden. The plan/hope is to use gravity feed and a drip irrigation system for the garden. Paul added a heavy mulch of salt-marsh hay furthering water conservation. He uses salt-marsh hay instead of straw because it contains no pesticide residues and seeds won’t sprout since they are would not be native to the soils here. He also uses wood chips, which further supports soil biology. While rain has not been an issue this summer, when droughts like last summer reoccur, Paul is ready.
Stay tuned for next Friday’s blog for the rest of the story…
Janice hadn’t been back until this day, and was thrilled by what she saw. She and Paul walked all over the land discussing each plant. It was a pleasure for me to see their excitement as they strolled through the land they both love.
Paul explained that he is using the knowledge he learned from books, and the internet, and experiences with others as a volunteer at NOFA-NH and Cooperative Extension and the Grantham Garden Club. He has interesting ways of protecting his plants that I hadn’t seen before and mixes vegetables and flowers along with his fruit trees. Paul practices permaculture which emulates a natural eco-system, avoids the use of harmful chemicals, conserves resources (like water), maintains soil biology and thus fertility which has the win-win of producing nutrient-dense food.
Paul has worked hard to make his home and property self-sustaining. To water his large gardens, Paul repurposed four 275-gallon IBC tanks that formerly held balsamic vinegar or avocado oil. He covered them with six mil black plastic to protect them from the sun to prevent algae growth. One sits under the gutter on his garage where the rain water is first collected and is then pumped to the other three which sit at the top of the tiered garden. The plan/hope is to use gravity feed and a drip irrigation system for the garden. Paul added a heavy mulch of salt-marsh hay furthering water conservation. He uses salt-marsh hay instead of straw because it contains no pesticide residues and seeds won’t sprout since they are would not be native to the soils here. He also uses wood chips, which further supports soil biology. While rain has not been an issue this summer, when droughts like last summer reoccur, Paul is ready.
Stay tuned for next Friday’s blog for the rest of the story…
Paul giving Janice some just picked summer squash and kale
Janice and Paul walking in the wooded part of the property.
First step in capturing rain water for all the gardens