A Dream Catcher Garden
Notes from the Outlands
by Rose Young, Landscape Designer
Gardeners are known for creative interpretations and this one is a rustic, environmentally friendly creation. As a landscape designer I am used to my clients having a substantial budget to create very nice formal or semi-formal gardens and yards. Since my backyard is by the wildness of nature I decided to challenge myself by using inexpensive and found materials to create this rustic & whimsical garden.
My inspiration started when I created an oval shape garden with a handmade fence from bamboo stakes. I then used cedar branches and bittersweet (trimmed from my hedgerow) to create two arched entrances at each end of the oval. I found wild grapevine climbing high up in the trees of my woods. When I pulled the vine down I dared it to be long enough to wrap all around the garden end to end. I dragged this long flexible treasure from the forest which encircled me from head to toe like a captured sleeping snake. Starting at one of the cedar arches I wove it up and over, then in and out of the bamboo grid, over the next arch and back to where I started. To my delight I found it complied to my request and ended tip to tip.
As I looked at the rustic appearance of the structure, images of olden days played in my mind when Indian ancestors might have fashioned the same materials usefully. So I impulsively called it my Indian herb garden.
My inspiration started when I created an oval shape garden with a handmade fence from bamboo stakes. I then used cedar branches and bittersweet (trimmed from my hedgerow) to create two arched entrances at each end of the oval. I found wild grapevine climbing high up in the trees of my woods. When I pulled the vine down I dared it to be long enough to wrap all around the garden end to end. I dragged this long flexible treasure from the forest which encircled me from head to toe like a captured sleeping snake. Starting at one of the cedar arches I wove it up and over, then in and out of the bamboo grid, over the next arch and back to where I started. To my delight I found it complied to my request and ended tip to tip.
As I looked at the rustic appearance of the structure, images of olden days played in my mind when Indian ancestors might have fashioned the same materials usefully. So I impulsively called it my Indian herb garden.
I planted a combination of medicinal, fragrant & cooking herbs with annual and perennial flowers and a few vegetables. It’s an all in one garden with a few of my favorite plants put together in a cohesive controllable design. At the entrance of the garden I hung a few decorative items on the lacework of the cedar branches and when I stepped back to look it reminded me of an Indian dream catcher. You might have seen them, a web design woven on a willow branch with little beads or trinkets in the web and feathers hanging at the base.
I decided to look into the legend and was lucky enough to connect with the historian of the Mohegan Tribe here in Uncasville, CT. I learned from her there are several tribes, the Lakota, Sioux, Ojibwa, Chippewa, Algonquian & Cree that include the story of capturing dreams and visions. Each tribe has its own lore, but the premise is the dream catcher symbol, hung by your bed in the window, represents the web of life and is hung to catch dreams, good or bad. The bad dreams get caught in the webbing and held there until first morning light, then burn off or disappear through the center hole. The good dreams were 
also caught in the web but would filter down the feathers and be held there, only to return another night, to be dreamed again.
A surprise overnight visitor's web right next to the Dream Catcher entry !
So in honoring this symbol I hung some of my favorite things at the entrance of my now newly named Dream Catcher Garden. I had a collection from outdoors of sea shells, feathers from swans, a turkey, crow, and pheasant and even a deer antler from the woods. And from indoors I had collectibles that sparkled in the sun and represented my dreams of the future. I placed them all in the cedar branches of my entry to the Dream Catcher Garden. This is a fun whimsical garden that the whole family can enjoy and create together.
Gardeners are known for enjoying the "outlands" and merging creativity with nature. To some this design may seem a bit outlandish but if you are an outlander (love the outdoors, forage, recycle & are economical) you just might understand.
(All photos are by Rose Young, do not distribute or reproduce without permission)
Herbs I use from the garden are medicinal, for seasoning or tea: Basil, Bee Balm (bergamot), Chamomile, Catmint (nepeta), Chives of onion & garlic (allium), Dill, Parsley, Sage, Sorrel, Tarragon, Thyme, Winter Savory, Yarrow (achillea for fresh scent in storage areas and closets)
Herbs I use from the garden are medicinal, for seasoning or tea: Basil, Bee Balm (bergamot), Chamomile, Catmint (nepeta), Chives of onion & garlic (allium), Dill, Parsley, Sage, Sorrel, Tarragon, Thyme, Winter Savory, Yarrow (achillea for fresh scent in storage areas and closets) Vegetables included in the garden were asparagus, artichoke, garlic, leeks and grape tomatoes.
My mom handmade this basket after seeing a photo of Gertrude Jekyll (famous English Garden Designer) gathering flowers in a basket just like this one. (Yes, Mom had taken basket weaving lessons previously.)
Evening view of the garden: A stray black cat decided to pause under the arch of the Dream Catcher entry.
