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WEDNESDAY
June 12, 2019
Ellen Morris Bishop
Gardener Cathy Mullins explains how she and her husband built the hugel that supports most of her fl ower garden.
HUGELKULTUR
Gardening with a natural raised bed
By Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
athy Mullins is in love with her hugel. The
free-form raised bed winds through her
fl ower garden, supporting a variety of blos-
soms and greenery, from teddy-bear sunfl owers
to sweet peas to alliums. “I am in love with fl ow-
ers. Someday this will be just a riot of fl owers and
plants, a place where you can walk and discover all
sorts of new things, edible things, plants and bees
and birds, with a surprise around every corner,” she
said.
“Hugelkultur” is a German term that means
“mound culture” and has been practiced in north-
ern Europe for hundreds of years. A hugel, says
local naturalist Ralph Anderson, is a free-form
raised bed constructed of natural materials—a
foundation of decaying logs, covered by com-
post and other nutrients, plus soil. Under Ander-
C
Ellen Morris Bishop
See Hugelkultur, Page B2
A bumblebee checks out the fl owers on a set of chives growing on the hugel in Cathy Mullins’ garden
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