I had the opportunity, along with some film makers, to document a burn sculpture by North Carolina artist and garden pro Frank Hyman. It was at Ken and Libby's organic farm in Orange County, which had a lot of interesting features worth capturing. Frank described his venture like this - "I’m creating a sculpture called “If Columbus Never Came”. In part, I’ll be burning a field of wildflowers to make it. The sculpture show is scheduled for March 24 - 25.

It should be pretty dramatic, colorful, and engaging. As you approach the site, you see things that signify a flower garden: a simple wooden gate, some grassy paths that lead to a birdbath and some inviting chairs. The paths lead you through a series of curvilinear beds. At some point you realize that the darkness of the beds comes not from mulch, but from scorched plants.

If Columbus never came, Native American societies would have developed at their own pace and at some point perhaps, would have created gardens not unlike those found in China, India, Africa or Europe. But they might well have kept their talent for employing fire as a garden tool.

Native Americans at the time of colonization were using controlled fires not just to clear and fertilize their vegetable gardens, but to promote forage for deer and other animals they hunted; and to destroy insect pests, weeds and plant diseases. They used fire to clear underbrush in the woods so they could travel farther. This burning also encouraged plants that produced the nuts, berries, seed and bulbs that they gathered for food. They also used fire for communication and for fighting other tribes. Possibly most important, the frequent small fires they set, kept fuel from building up that would have fed major, destructive fires like the one that destroyed
the Yellowstone Park in 1988.

The continent the colonists saw had been shaped by Native American fires for as long as 40,000 years. When their populations were decimated by European diseases and warfare, the lack of fire changed this continent and led to the local or total extinction of some fire dependent species like the jack pine and the heath hen. If Columbus never came, this continent would have grown into quite a different garden."

All in all, a fascinating day with some interesting people that I thoroughly enjoyed. When we finished, and Frank surveyed the grounds, satisfied with the burn, he opened a bottle of sparkling grape juice and we toasted to a successful burn.