It may seem like the growing season has come to an end, but there is still a lot of life going on in the garden. Inside the soil, and even above it, things are continuing to grow and change and at Alice’s Garden, this circle of life is on full-display.
It's one of the best times of the year for Alice's Garden executive director Venice Williams. "This time of year, the garden represents life and death coexisting in the most beautiful of ways," she says. "What appears to be death, but if you look closely at that death, there's so much life because there are the seeds for next year's planting. So, is it really death?"
Many things in the garden can be harvested this time of year, from herbs like thyme, sage, and lavender to crops like Brussels sprouts. Williams will intentionally leave some of that harvest in the garden to feed the animals that frequent the area and nourish the soil ahead of next year's planting.
"We think about the seasons being so distinct, and we often talk about how short the Wisconsin growing season is," says Williams. "But if you really practice three or four-season gardening, you can get those gardens [here] in the state of Wisconsin and all of this greenery. It's defying those myths."
Williams also suggests reading the book Ecopreneuring: Putting Purpose and the Planet Before Profits by John D. Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist.
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