The Verde Valley Archaeology Center and Museum will be hosting its annual American Indian Ancestral Garden open house and plant sale on Saturday, May 4, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Plants offered will include agave pups, yellow squash sprouts and local floral varieties.
Visitors will be able to walk the garden grounds and see the flowers already in bloom, such as periwinkles, California poppies, desert daisies and larkspurs.
VVAC’s ethnobotanist, Rob Estrada, will be on hand to discuss the pros and cons of landrace gardening and the “three sisters” method, as well as the differences between the two techniques.
The three sisters method is a complementary planting method common throughout preColumbian North America that involves planting maize, squash and beans next to each other for the dual purpose of allowing the crops to provide one another with nutrients and preventing the dietary deficiencies that result from a maize-heavy diet.
“Our Native American Ancestral Garden is truly a special place,” executive director Monica Buckle said. “Not only do we have archaeology on the property, such as a pit house, but we are cultivating plants that have been grown for thousands of years here in the Verde Valley by the ancestral Hopi and Yavapai and Apache peoples. It’s amazing to think that the peoples of yesterday had domesticated corn beans, squash, agave and yucca and what they domesticated we still utilize to this very day.”
From an archaeological and scientific standpoint, the garden serves as an addition to the large botanical collection from the Dyck Cliff dwelling site that the museum holds. Its sustenance gallery is dedicated to the food that the Sinagua people consumed, including corn and agave quids, which Buckle likened to prehistoric bubblegum.
“We’re very fortunate to have Estrada as the steward,” Buckle said. “Not only does he do an exceptional job growing the plants and bringing them to fruition, but he has a deep connection to the space.” Buckle also thanked the garden volunteers, Donna Ullner, Derek Nadvornick and Robert Phillips
“The garden volunteers love that connection to the earth and watching the plants grow,” Buckle said. “There’s nothing more satisfying than planting a seedling and watching its whole life cycle … Our garden space really exemplifies what we have in our museum collection, specifically the botanicals and the seed collection.”
The permaculture garden features lettuce varieties, arugula, kale, onions and carrots. Native varieties of plants have been returning every year, such as red dye amaranth and cotton. Estrada said they effectively come back on autopilot and he just adds water.
“We kind of live in a Goldilocks zone here in the Verde Valley and we’re able to get a lot of varieties that our neighbors to the north and south cannot grow,” Estrada said.
The garden also includes a traditional Hopi dry farming section which relies solely on precipitation and moisture without irrigation.
“I’m really trying to rely on mother nature the way the ancestors did,” Estrada said.
Estrada said that the northern Apache farmed the Mogollon Rim using permaculture techniques, as opposed to the Hopi, who utilized the “three sisters” method. He said that permaculture is more hands-off while the latter is more hands-on.
“We rely solely on the support of our members and donors for the maintenance of our garden,” Buckle said. “Whether it’s water usage or maintaining the trails for public use, there’s so much expense that goes into keeping those nine acres open to the public. Please feel free to reach out if anyone is interested in further supporting and enhancing the garden space.”
Participants are encouraged to start their own gardens with local plants available at the open house.
The garden is located at 330 N. Homestead Parkway off Highway 260.
