Author: Cory
-
Permaculture Principles in Everyday Life Part 4 – Principles 10, 11, and 12
Welcome to the final post in this series on permaculture principles in daily life. This time we’re looking at the final four permaculture principles: “Use and Value Diversity,” “Use Edges and Value the Marginal,” and “Creatively Use and Respond to Change.” If you’re interested in reading the first three posts, here they are for easy…
-
25 Edible Landscaping Ideas to Grow More Food at Home
Are you ready to transform your outdoor space into an edible, diverse, and beautiful landscape? I’ve curated twenty-five edible landscaping ideas to get your creative juices flowing for your next garden project. First, a quick disclaimer to always use caution when using the plants you grow for food and medicine. Read my full disclaimer here.…
-
What is a Forest Garden? And How to Grow Amazing Food in Your Backyard
Forests in nature are resilient, diverse, self-regulating ecosystems. They provide all the nutritional needs of their residents – birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, microorganisms, etc. A forest garden, sometimes called a food forest, does the same for people, providing food, shade, wildlife, and an outdoor place to enjoy. A forest garden is a cultivated, edible, and diverse…
-
5 Final Fast Growing Perennials to Quickly Grow Your Edible Landscape
Welcome back to the last installment of this fast growing plants series. These last five fast-growing plants all happen to be perennials. I’ll discuss each plant briefly, covering its benefits and uses, growing and harvesting tips, and design ideas and varieties to consider. These fast growing perennials are excellent options (depending on your climate) to…
-
Beloved Bee Balm: Uses, Varieties, and Growing Tips
The Plant of the Month for August is bee balm (Monarda spp.). I love this plant because it’s so pretty and fragrant, bees love it, mosquitoes hate it, and it makes a lovely herbal tea. With all of these great bee balm uses, I just had to plant some in my backyard, and maybe after…
-
The Many Remarkable Benefits of a Pergola
Want to transform your backyard into a functional and inviting space that aligns with sustainable design principles? Consider adding a pergola—an attractive and versatile structure that can enhance your outdoor living experience in multiple ways. In this post, we’ll explore the benefits of a pergola from a permaculture perspective, considering practicality, functionality, and thoughtful design.…
-
5 More Fast Growing Plants to Quickly Establish Your Forest Garden
Welcome back. It’s time for part two of this fast growing plants series. If you haven’t already, check out part one, Five Fantastic Fast Growing Plants to Kickstart Your Food Forest. Today we’ll cover five more fast growing plants to help your perennial garden or food forest to fill in quickly. As with part one,…
-
Permaculture Principles in Everyday Life: Part 3 – Principles 7, 8, & 9
Welcome to Part 3 of this four-part series on the twelve principles of permaculture in everyday life. In Part 3, I’ll cover the seventh, eighth, and ninth principles of permaculture, which are ‘Design from Pattern to Detail,’ ‘Integrate Rather than Segregate,’ and ‘Use Small and Slow Solutions.‘ I’ll go over each principle, giving a brief…
-
Growing Raspberries, the Ruby of the Permaculture Garden
Raspberries take center stage this month, both on the blog and in many of our gardens. Growing raspberries is one of my favorite parts of summer. July is the month these little jewels shine the brightest in my garden, and since they’re one of the yummiest harvests I’m bringing inside these days, I wanted to…
-
Five Fantastic Fast-Growing Plants to Kick-Start Your Food Forest
Are you looking to create a thriving food forest or edible perennial garden? Starting with fast growing plants will provide you with some quick successes to get your garden off to a strong start. These resilient plants will rapidly establish themselves and provide you with abundant foliage or harvests in the first or second year.…