A perfect garden style is impossible to pinpoint, but the keyhole garden belongs on the top-10 list. First designed in the 1990s to assist people in drought-stressed southern Africa to grow food, keyhole gardens have since gained popularity in home gardens around the world.
There is a lot of variation in the design, but in general a keyhole garden’s shape resembles Pac-Man—or picture a pie with a piece removed—and it stands about half as tall as the gardener. A cylindrical basket runs top to bottom at the garden’s center. This is a compost bin that receives kitchen scraps. As the waste breaks down, the gardener waters the compost and nutrients seep into the soil, supporting the plants.
AMY GRISAK is a writer, gardener and outdoors enthusiast based in Montana.
A DOOR OPENS
As all of us know, when two gardeners get together, the ideas fly. A couple of years ago I was chatting with a new garden friend, Kari Aguayo, when she told me about a beautiful stone
