The Big Ole Garden By the Lake
If you have ever driven past BB Lane Gardens or drifted by on Lake Iroquois you already know her. She is not the type to whisper for your attention and she certainly does not apologize for the space she takes up. She spills toward the road and the water with a confidence that practically dares you to look twice. It is a regular occurrence those visiting the lake to lean out their windows just to shout their admiration across the air. I receive it all with a smile that knows exactly why they are lingering because there is no limit to the material that feeds my ego when the view is this good. Still, I will tell you something honest. When the garden is a mess I feel it in my own skin. Usually I look the part too but the moment I put my full effort into that dirt everything changes. I enter the garden as one person and leave as another entirely. I walk out rejuvenated and frankly unstoppable.
Now in its sixth season BB Lane Gardens has reached a maturity that only comes with a bit of history. Last year she had to rest while the world around us got loud and messy. Between the relentless dust from the road and the nearby construction that seemed to favor deep pockets over the health of the lakeshed I found my sense of peace under siege. Watching people build over streambeds and crowd the properyy line with spite garages made me shift my focus entirely. If the land was going to be restless I was going to find my power elsewhere. I turned my heart toward the water and became the kind of sailor who doesn't just survive a storm but owns it. I reached the point where I can handle twenty knots of wind with a boat full of wide eyed newbies and bring them all back to shore perfectly intact. There is a specific kind of rush in being the calmest person in a gale and that is the energy I am bringing back to the soil this year.
This summer is about a very deliberate kind of balance. I will be splitting my attention between the gardens I love and the lakes and mountains I fully intend to conquer while leaving plenty of room for some proper summer relaxation. I am no longer interested in just being productive. I am interested in being present. So what does that mean for that big old garden by the road. It means a transformation that favors the senses over the harvest. I am moving the food production away from the roadside because dust has no business settling on what nourishes me. Those crops are moving to a more private space where they can grow without interference or prying eyes.
The visible stretch along the road is being devoted entirely to flowers and a healing flow designed for those who know how to wander. I am creating a space where you can meander through the blooms and lose yourself for a few moments only to walk back out feeling like a fresh new baby. It is going to be immersive and intentional and perhaps a little bit intoxicating. BB Lane is evolving into something wiser and more layered where structure meets a wilder kind of freedom. I have spent years learning exactly how to handle the wind and the weeds and this season I am finally ready to show off the results. The garden is changing and so am I and I think you are going to like what you see.
