Big Bend Hot Springs Project uses permaculture principles to guide our development, and one aspect of our permaculture development is our gardens, orchards, edible landscaping, and food forest enhancement efforts.
Lah-lah-pis-mah, also known as Big Bend Hot Springs, has a strong legacy of food production dating back thousands of years, when the Madesi tribe harvested acorns, salmon, trout, deer, and countless other plants, animals, and fungi for food and medicine. In more recent times, BBHS residents in the 1980s and 1990s planted many gardens and orchards that still produce food today. Spring Peach Blossoms:
Dan Christiansen was the main gardener in that era, and he planted most of the perennials we now enjoy (over 40 fruit trees and grape vines are now being nurtured and enjoyed by BBHSP). Thanks, Dan! And special appreciation and thanks to other recent BBHSP gardeners, including: Roberta Ma, Eviane, Korey, and Elizabeth Beil. Thanks to all the gardeners who have helped over the years!
Our current BBHSP Garden Coordinator is Lindsay, who is an incredible organic gardener, project manager, and local farmer, as well. Her contributions to BBHSP are huge and crucial to the Project moving forward. In this picture, Huxley and Lindsay are sorting and selecting seeds, and are pictured in the “Garden Kitchen,” adjacent to the main garden:
One of our goals is to maintain and evolve the gardens, orchards, edible landscaping, and food forest to produce plenty of delicious organic food to feed BBHSP staff members and have some surplus food to give away and trade for other food in the community. In addition to the thriving fruit, vegetable, herb, and flower gardens, we also steward Apple, Peach, Plum, Pear, and Cherry trees, plus Grape vines, Kiwis, Blueberry bushes, tons of Blackberry, Mulberry, Huckleberry, and inoculated logs growing gourmet mushrooms. We are gradually pruning many overgrown fruit trees and we are planning and experimenting with adding other varieties and other kinds of fruits and nuts to the historic BBHS orchards.
Tribute to Prayer Garden Memories
In addition to the main gardens, greenhouse, orchards, blueberry garden, and edible landscaping, there used to be a beautiful “Prayer Garden” (pictured below), that was located near the Lah-lah-pis-mah hot springs and Ahjoomah (Pit River). The Prayer Garden was surrounded on three sides by hot springs, making the soil warm, from the shallow hot aquifer flowing below. The garden was created by the late great Elly Beil, and the entrance archway (made from recycled steel by friend of BBHSP, Gustav) commemorates her with the sign that reads “Elly’s Prayer Garden”. When the Prayer Garden was retired, the archway was moved to the main garden.
The Prayer Garden had some sacred plants and some heirloom Native American plants, and was planted with beds in each of the four directions. The central altar had a carved cedar Peace Pole, created by BBHSP staff artist and altar-maker, Bern.
Below: The year two Prayer Garden with improved “Four Directions” orientation and circular shape, pathway digging, and sheet mulch (cardboard covering for the winter through much of Spring), to prevent weed growth.
Below: Bern’s design for the carving of the Incense-Cedar Peace Pole center piece for the Prayer Garden Altar. The piece includes the four directions, along with symbols representing the four elements (earth, air, fir, and water), and the animal spirits associated with each direction in some indigenous cultures.
Bern carved and installed the cedar pole and built this beautiful cedar and flagstone altar for the center of the Prayer Garden. The spirals carved into the peace pole represent the merging of DNA, peoples, and cultures:
Each bed in the Prayer Garden was aligned in one of the four directions, separated by cedar plank pathways (mill ends) and local volcanic gravel.
Prayer Garden history (from space)…
Below: Prayer Garden, Year One (July 8, 2012):
Below: Prayer Garden, Winter, Year Two (with sheet mulching and new pathways, on February 21, 2014):
Prayer Garden evolving (from Earth)…
Prayer Garden, Year One (2012), tilled and ready for planting (thanks to Patrick B. for tilling up the turf for Elizabeth’s original Prayer Garden!):
Prayer Garden, Year Two (2013), in full growing glory:
Prayer Garden All-Star Staff: Red Amaranth, Sunflowers, Tobacco, Mountain Rainbow Native Multicolor Flour Corn, Hopi Blue Corn, White Sage, Culinary Sage, Rosemary, Strawberries, Parsley, Holy Basil, Buckwheat, Purslane, Catnip, Winter Squash, Artichoke, Quinoa, Tomato, Green Onions, Motherwort, Primrose, Calendula, Trumpet Flower, and many more sacred plants, herb, flowers, etc…
THANKS to all the helpers who donated time, plants, seeds, the amazing entry archway, and so much love to Elly’s Prayer Garden! It will always be a special memory.