Going Organic in Barnstead, N.H.
Grazing Horses and Encouraging
Natives is a Dream Come True
By
Kathy Litchfield
For Patricia Sanborn, there is
nothing like letting her sleek, black Arabian and Morab horses graze freely on
the 90 acres she owns in Barnstead, N.H.
Graced
with rolling pastures and hayfields, flowering native gardens and organic
vegetables, Trish is careful when choosing what plants to encourage in the house
gardens and along the pathways her horses enjoy on their way to the field.
“It’s
very important not to have plants that they like to eat,” she laughed.
Trish
partnered with five-year Accredited Organic Land Care Professional Paula
Kovecses of TWIG (The Way It Grows) Horticultural Consulting to find the
perfect plants. Together they chose a border called blue star amsonia (Amsonia tabernaemontana) which features stunning blue flowers in summer and a
showy feathery foliage that Sanborn loves and her horses shun.
It has always been important to her to incorporate
native plants and organic land care methods into the property that she and her
husband were thrilled to discover just 12 years go in Barnstead, N.H. She
believes in the interconnectedness of all life and aims to respect her
partnership with nature as much as possible.
“We are so blessed to be here. It’s
as close to heaven we can get,” said Trish, who offers a subtle energetic
medicine called biofeedback through her business, Quantum Life Healing.
“I
understand that there is a web, that we’re all interconnected and that we can’t
just wipe out one species because we think it’s a problem. We have to make sure
that we maintain the balance of life,” she said. “If you’ve got an unhealthy
ground you won’t have birds taking care of the bugs. Since the planting I’ve
done - I’ve increased all my natives around my vegetable gardens for instance –
I have more and more birds every year. It’s vital to have a healthy environment
in order to have the bugs that the birds will eat and to do that, you need
native plants.”
While she was always interested in
organic methods and never sprayed chemicals, herbicides or pesticides on her
property, she shared that she had an epiphany after reading Douglas Tallamy’s
book, “Bringing Nature Home.”
“It was around the time I was
introduced to Paula (Kovecses). I had always liked pretty little native plants
but after reading that book I realized it was necessary,” she said.
Trish’s
sister introduced her to Kovecses at a lecture on invasive plants Kovecses was
giving at a local college.
“That
subject was near and dear to my heart and after I heard her speak I made an
appointment for her to come out and talk to me about my land,” she said.
“Paula
has been a true gem. She is so knowledgeable, and is aware of many plants I
never would have known about, that are natives and that are doing well here. I
don’t like traditional suburban landscaping that usually consists of a lot of
lawn and a few alien species of ornamental shrubberies. They don’t provide food
or shelter for animals. My thing is to co-exist with what’s already living here
and whatever I do to the land, I want to be a benefit to everyone who lives
here. My gardens are kind of different looking – they are wild looking and very
natural and always improving. It’s like a tapestry that gets better every year.”
Among Trish’s favorite native plants
are wild indigo, joe pye weed and Turtleheads. She also grows comfrey,
marshmallow, motherwort, blue vervain and skullcap in her medicinal herb
garden.
Trish
is also planting swamp azalea, aronia and rhodis along the miles of riding
trails through her woods. “It adds an element to the walk or trail ride, to see
my garden in the woods slowly becoming even more beautiful,” she said.
Sometimes
the battle with invasives becomes overwhelming. “They’re plentiful everywhere,”
she sighed, “but that’s what we’re working on!”
Trish and her husband Peter enjoy
eating organic food and make their own pet food to feed their two terrier dogs
and three cats, formerly strays “who found us,” she said.
Last year the couple, married for 40
years with two grown sons, added chickens to their Black Horse Farm.
What Kovecses said she enjoys about
working with Trish is that “she ‘gets it.’”
“She is open to increasing
biodiversity by using native plants as much as possible and of course feeding
her family. There is never any pressure when I visit Tricia, we have tea;
we chat and brainstorm the best ideas for her landscape,” said Kovecses. “A
full design was done for her property, and we have changed things a bit but we
definitely keep the communication open and we seem to work well together. If
we decide on a plant, if I can get it locally, that is how we try to do it. I
believe she is not a ‘wanna be’ organic, she stands true to working with
nature.”
Kovecses
worked with Trish on a landscape design for the gardens surrounding their home,
located in the center of the 90 acres. One perennial garden that is now coming
into its own showcases flourishing goldenrod, joy pye weed, sneezeweed with
red, orange and yellow flowers and black-eyed susans.
“It’s
this crazy area of tall plants that looks nutty, but we love it,” she said, and
frequently recommends Kovecses to friends and neighbors.
