Gardening from Space
Have you ever Google-mapped your garden? I've been obsessively doing so since I saw this property listed in September 2015. It has been a useful tool, helping in the implementation of my master garden plan. Every year I excitedly revisit Google to see if the magic orbs in the sky have taken a fresh photo of Chickadee Gardens. It's kind of hit and miss for the early years before we owned it, but it seems that Big Brother Google is taking this mapping thing seriously, so I've been lucky with a photo of the property every year since we moved in December 2015. Why not take advantage, I ask? With that, I give you the evolution of the land that would become Chickadee Gardens - from 1990 to 2019 - as seen from space.
July 1990
This, the very first photo on record with Google Earth, looks like something out of an old sci-fi movie. No house, lots of forest and an odd little path or road swirling in the center. At this point the property was part of a larger 10+ acre parcel owned by one family.
This, the very first photo on record with Google Earth, looks like something out of an old sci-fi movie. No house, lots of forest and an odd little path or road swirling in the center. At this point the property was part of a larger 10+ acre parcel owned by one family.
July 2005
By this time the land had been divided and sold as two-acre plots. A house was built, trees had been cleared and a row of trees seen at the top of the photo were planted. We have since had to thin those.
By this time the land had been divided and sold as two-acre plots. A house was built, trees had been cleared and a row of trees seen at the top of the photo were planted. We have since had to thin those.
July 2006
The only real change I can see is a north-south line at about 2/3 the way in. This would prove to be a serious division of this land in the coming years.
FM here: It was a wire fence. Not sure why it was installed, but I removed it in 2016. Later I used the fencing to escape-proof the chicken yard.
The only real change I can see is a north-south line at about 2/3 the way in. This would prove to be a serious division of this land in the coming years.
FM here: It was a wire fence. Not sure why it was installed, but I removed it in 2016. Later I used the fencing to escape-proof the chicken yard.
May 2010
By this time the first owner had sold it to the woman from whom we bought it. Everything east of the wire fence was the "wild" area as the owner described it while the western side was mowed and maintained as field grass. To the north of the house you can see the beginnings of what I now call the berm garden. Also to the southern edge of the property a couple small trees had been planted, you can barely see them. I notice a few other small trees that have since been removed by us due to disease.
By this time the first owner had sold it to the woman from whom we bought it. Everything east of the wire fence was the "wild" area as the owner described it while the western side was mowed and maintained as field grass. To the north of the house you can see the beginnings of what I now call the berm garden. Also to the southern edge of the property a couple small trees had been planted, you can barely see them. I notice a few other small trees that have since been removed by us due to disease.
August 2010
The difference between the two sides can really be detected here. The row of Douglas fir trees at the northern edge have filled in considerably in five years.
The difference between the two sides can really be detected here. The row of Douglas fir trees at the northern edge have filled in considerably in five years.
August 2012
The berm garden to the north of the house is dotted with plants, but has not really filled in. The soil is behind a low retaining wall and likely turned very hard after baking in the summer sun with poor drainage. That's how we found it three years later in 2015.
The berm garden to the north of the house is dotted with plants, but has not really filled in. The soil is behind a low retaining wall and likely turned very hard after baking in the summer sun with poor drainage. That's how we found it three years later in 2015.
July 2014
Two major changes are that large gray circle center bottom, the labyrinth has been created. It is where the first photo in this post was taken as it looks today from the ground. Another change is at the base of the deck, the beginnings of what was a vegetable garden can be seen (outlined in red). The other red circle is where a mature Acer macrophyllum or maple tree died.
Two major changes are that large gray circle center bottom, the labyrinth has been created. It is where the first photo in this post was taken as it looks today from the ground. Another change is at the base of the deck, the beginnings of what was a vegetable garden can be seen (outlined in red). The other red circle is where a mature Acer macrophyllum or maple tree died.
April 2015
This is the year we bought the property, but it wasn't until November with a move-in date of mid-December. The vegetable garden at the base of the deck has been expanded (outlined in red) and is at this point an enclosed deer-proof area. That maple, at this point, is dead. The second circle in the lower left corner is another Acer macrophyllum, also dead.
This is the year we bought the property, but it wasn't until November with a move-in date of mid-December. The vegetable garden at the base of the deck has been expanded (outlined in red) and is at this point an enclosed deer-proof area. That maple, at this point, is dead. The second circle in the lower left corner is another Acer macrophyllum, also dead.
July 2016
Aaah, our first year here. The very first thing we did was have an eight-foot deer fence installed around the parameter. This meant that some of those rows of trees to the north had to go to make way for the fence. Some obvious changes are the labyrinth and the tree in the lower left are gone. The stones from the labyrinth (the paths were defined by small basalt stones) were reused all over the dry garden areas. The land has begun to be landscaped by us. The berm garden to the north of the house has had a couple good applications of compost. Paths are beginning to be evident, by this time we had walked naturally all over the property and used those routes to determine where paths should naturally be. You can just make out the chicken coop that FM built, top center, a small, light-green cubicle. FM removed the fencing and raised beds from the vegetable area. We reused those materials and raised beds in other areas of the garden. The two circles in this photo are the dead maple (left red circle) and a second Acer macrophyllum,which also suddenly died (right red circle). FM and his brother removed all of the dead trees. A couple smaller dead trees we left standing as snags for wildlife. You can barely make out four dots along the southern edge, those are my olive trees which took a hard hit the following winter. They have since (slowly) regrown.
Aaah, our first year here. The very first thing we did was have an eight-foot deer fence installed around the parameter. This meant that some of those rows of trees to the north had to go to make way for the fence. Some obvious changes are the labyrinth and the tree in the lower left are gone. The stones from the labyrinth (the paths were defined by small basalt stones) were reused all over the dry garden areas. The land has begun to be landscaped by us. The berm garden to the north of the house has had a couple good applications of compost. Paths are beginning to be evident, by this time we had walked naturally all over the property and used those routes to determine where paths should naturally be. You can just make out the chicken coop that FM built, top center, a small, light-green cubicle. FM removed the fencing and raised beds from the vegetable area. We reused those materials and raised beds in other areas of the garden. The two circles in this photo are the dead maple (left red circle) and a second Acer macrophyllum,which also suddenly died (right red circle). FM and his brother removed all of the dead trees. A couple smaller dead trees we left standing as snags for wildlife. You can barely make out four dots along the southern edge, those are my olive trees which took a hard hit the following winter. They have since (slowly) regrown.
May 2017
All that "wild" area to the east has been hand-cleared by FM over the course of a year. Yes, by hand and chainsaw. You can see the beginnings of our fruit orchard in the lower right as well as an early vegetable garden in the rows below the orchard. The berm area to the north of the house is filling in as is the bulk of the garden to the south of the house. FM built a wide path to the chicken coop and removed another Acer macrophyllum just past the chicken coop as it too was diseased. It also let in a lot of light for what would become the chicken yard. To the south of the labyrinth area, a large crescent shaped path can be seen with two shiny piles just to the south. Those are the "Himalayan Mounds" that FM dug out from where the path now lies, the shininess comes from plastic covering them to solarize the soil. The four olive trees can't be seen in this photo as they were killed to the ground by ice and snow.
All that "wild" area to the east has been hand-cleared by FM over the course of a year. Yes, by hand and chainsaw. You can see the beginnings of our fruit orchard in the lower right as well as an early vegetable garden in the rows below the orchard. The berm area to the north of the house is filling in as is the bulk of the garden to the south of the house. FM built a wide path to the chicken coop and removed another Acer macrophyllum just past the chicken coop as it too was diseased. It also let in a lot of light for what would become the chicken yard. To the south of the labyrinth area, a large crescent shaped path can be seen with two shiny piles just to the south. Those are the "Himalayan Mounds" that FM dug out from where the path now lies, the shininess comes from plastic covering them to solarize the soil. The four olive trees can't be seen in this photo as they were killed to the ground by ice and snow.
July 2018
In the lower right you can see our fully developed veggie garden and growing orchard. How about those parallel veggie beds? (kidding...I think we garden drunk sometimes). The labyrinth circle can barely be detected and you can notice rapid growth of many of the newly planted areas. A new path from the labyrinth garden area to the veggie garden area is clearly seen towards the bottom of the property. The crescent-shaped path below the labyrinth area has a notch built in which is where a bench sits today. On either side of the notch the Himalayan Mounds have filled in considerably. The four olive trees can be detected as they begin to regrow from their roots.
In the lower right you can see our fully developed veggie garden and growing orchard. How about those parallel veggie beds? (kidding...I think we garden drunk sometimes). The labyrinth circle can barely be detected and you can notice rapid growth of many of the newly planted areas. A new path from the labyrinth garden area to the veggie garden area is clearly seen towards the bottom of the property. The crescent-shaped path below the labyrinth area has a notch built in which is where a bench sits today. On either side of the notch the Himalayan Mounds have filled in considerably. The four olive trees can be detected as they begin to regrow from their roots.
BEFORE - 2005
July 2005
AFTER - 2019
May 2019
The latest image of our dream. Up the driveway on the right (below the house) you can see the largest new path that connects the driveway with the rest of the garden, thereby creating more garden beds. The orchard is filling in and the permanent elements of the veggie garden can be seen - the raised beds as well as the artichoke and asparagus beds. The berries are along the edge of the property forming a sideways "u". Along the eastern edge, continuing up from the "u" is a path FM made right up against our fence to be able to have access to the area. The olive trees are getting back to where they were. I mention the olive trees as they were the first thing I planted in this garden.
Just above the orchard you can see the dirt pad for the hoophouse, which FM finished in September. Also below the hoophouse dirt pad to the left FM removed a Douglas fir which was leaning heavily and was set to fall in a good strong wind. Not good next to a greenhouse. Not seen in these photos are the area to the west of the driveway which we call the "Western Swale" that have been weeded, planted and wood-chipped over three years. Also, at the very northern edge of the property is the shade garden that is hidden by the thick tree canopy made up of Douglas fir trees and a few rather large Acer macrophyllum.
This point of view doesn't capture it all and, of course, doesn't show the textures and colors from this far away. While this post isn't the prettiest or the most interesting for most of you, it is a great tool to aid in identifying the flow of a garden as well as see its evolution from a very unique perspective.
Crazy stuff, don't you think? I hope you've enjoyed this unconventional look at the evolution of Chickadee Gardens as seen from space. As always, thank you for reading and happy gardening. We need gardens now more than ever.
The latest image of our dream. Up the driveway on the right (below the house) you can see the largest new path that connects the driveway with the rest of the garden, thereby creating more garden beds. The orchard is filling in and the permanent elements of the veggie garden can be seen - the raised beds as well as the artichoke and asparagus beds. The berries are along the edge of the property forming a sideways "u". Along the eastern edge, continuing up from the "u" is a path FM made right up against our fence to be able to have access to the area. The olive trees are getting back to where they were. I mention the olive trees as they were the first thing I planted in this garden.
Just above the orchard you can see the dirt pad for the hoophouse, which FM finished in September. Also below the hoophouse dirt pad to the left FM removed a Douglas fir which was leaning heavily and was set to fall in a good strong wind. Not good next to a greenhouse. Not seen in these photos are the area to the west of the driveway which we call the "Western Swale" that have been weeded, planted and wood-chipped over three years. Also, at the very northern edge of the property is the shade garden that is hidden by the thick tree canopy made up of Douglas fir trees and a few rather large Acer macrophyllum.
This point of view doesn't capture it all and, of course, doesn't show the textures and colors from this far away. While this post isn't the prettiest or the most interesting for most of you, it is a great tool to aid in identifying the flow of a garden as well as see its evolution from a very unique perspective.
Crazy stuff, don't you think? I hope you've enjoyed this unconventional look at the evolution of Chickadee Gardens as seen from space. As always, thank you for reading and happy gardening. We need gardens now more than ever.
ReplyDeleteWhat you've done in this amount of time is amazing.
Thank you, Tracy! It's been a wild ride but one we wouldn't trade for anything.
DeleteI have occasionally looked my address up on Google but I've never found historical satellite photos like this, I don't know how. This was a very interesting progression.
ReplyDeleteAh, try Google Earth - that might show more history, which is what I used. Message me if you want more detail ;)
DeleteI agree with Tracy. I think you and FM have done a yeoman's job with this garden. Looking at this through the eyes of Google Earth is fun. I have looked at ours before but the pictures are all during summer when the tree leaves are out and you can't see much of my garden. You have made me want to go look further back tho.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lisa. After looking at this post we're a little tired! Thank goodness for winter when we can slow it down a bit. Google Earth is fun, I encourage anyone to take a look and see what it reveals....!
DeleteThis is so interesting. The amount of work you've done is mind-boggling and to have Google capture it for you is fantastic. The magic orb doesn't document our property very often, sadly. But still, isn't it wonderful to have all the work turn into our dream come true?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Grace! Google is fun, I wonder why it doesn't document your property? Interesting...well, at any rate it's fun to look. It IS wonderful! :)
DeleteI, too, have looked at my property on Google Earth over the years, beginning before I bought my Sauvie Island place. It's fun to see all the curving paths and beds I have added over the years. Yes, it's a great tool for planning. And you've done amazing things!
ReplyDeleteOooh, cool! Sauvie Island is so special, what a wonderful location for a garden. It is fun, that's a great way to describe the discovery. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteFascinating! Your changes are abundantly evident no matter the view.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy you can see rhubarb from space....even the littlest thing can be detected if it's not obscured by tree canopy. Fun stuff.
DeleteThis was a lot of fun, thanks for sharing it. Doing a similar search I discovered there used to be two trees right at the base of the steps down to our patio (back when the patio was lawn). I wish I could figure out what they were.
ReplyDeleteYou bet, Danger, glad you enjoyed it. You know, maybe Evan can i.d. a tree from space....?? Maybe he can help. That would be fun to know!
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