As our climate changes, it’s imperative that home and commercial landscapes in the West become drought tolerant while also supporting wildlife such as pollinators, birds, and animals. In this blog post, I’m sharing a list of trees, shrubs, flowering perennials, grasses and ground covers that are drought tolerant.
Read MoreAfter learning that common hydration powder packets contain many ingredients (such as pure cane sugar as the primary ingredient) that negatively impact our health and hormones, I began scheming ways to make my own herbal electrolyte drink. I crafted this refreshing and nourishing cold-water botanical infusion that is loaded with minerals and electrolytes for hydration.
Read MoreAll-in-all I spend about 1 hour per week weeding, watering and fertilizing, plus another 1 hour per week harvesting, deadheading, and mowing around the perimeter. The rest of my garden-time consists of strolling the land in the morn’ and evenin’ with either a coffee or glass of wine in hand - depending on the time of day. Two hours of work per week is an amazing pay-off for such a large garden. How in the world is that possible? Allow me to dish the dirt on how I keep my 4,000 square foot garden, meadow, and orchard low maintenance.
Read MoreBetween two seasons is a great place to be. That’s where I am on this chilly Spring day, returning to myself in the greenhouse and letting the words bloom. To celebrate this verdant return, I’m up-potting an arrangement of narcissus, hyacinth, and tulips for the Easter table. Join me in the greenhouse, between two seasons, to celebrate this return.
Read MoreMy personal ritual of communing with the land, foraging with gratitude, then crafting a my own symbol of hope and everlasting life to hang on my front door is my way of welcoming winter. It is, after all, on the winter solstice when our solar year ends and a new seasonal year begins.
Read MoreWhether we’re roaming the wild or walking through a garden, Fall is the season to harvest seeds. It’s a simple process, and like most tasks in the garden, quite meditative as well. It’s a favorite seasonal ritual of mine. Saving seeds is straight forward, but there is important background knowledge an experienced gardener should wield. Here’s a lesson answering all of your seed saving questions and providing you with my master gardener seed-saving tips.
Read MoreSet on the wild beaches of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Kalaloch Beach, we gathered at the invitation of Leger Experiences for a wild dining overnight retreat we wont soon forget.
Read MoreDuring the week of the Fall Equinox each year you can find me in my kitchen chopping up spicy garden-grown vegetables and adding them to a large glass jar. I’m making fire cider in preparation for the oncoming cold and flu season. Fire Cider is a spicy cold and flu tonic that boosts immunity, improves digestion, and warms the body. Discover the benefits of fire cider, how to make fire cider, and how to use fire cider in this simple recipe.
Read MoreMy car rumbles along a dirt road as I head inland from the bay and through a densely grown woodland on the island. The smell of the sea mingles with road dust and the resinous musk of old cedar trees. At the end of the road, a sharp turn down a gravel driveway reveals a clearing in the wood ahead. I can just make out the sight of a dome-top roof peeking from the canopy to enjoy a kiss from the mid-afternoon sun.
Read MoreInspiration for summer seasonal living as shared by a woman rewilding herself and land through gardening, foraging, and wildcrafting.
Read MoreThis is no ordinary backyard filled with uniform shrubs, nor religiously mowed each Saturday afternoon before the broadcasted game. This is a place where the soil remains true and the plants shape-shift with the seasons. It is dry yet lush; windswept yet calming. It’s made to be lived in, to be wildcrafted with and to be engaged with in reciprocity . It’s also made to be an example to others of the miracles possible when we return to our roots. This is a landscape, rewild.
Read MoreWelcome to my pit of despair. I say that with a cheeky grin and a bit of sarcasm, but not much. Full transparency: this patch is just one of many dreadfully hideous spots on this land. In an effort to dispel any myths about a perfect garden (or hence a perfect life) that I may have inadvertently construed through my blogging, I’m here to unearth the reality.
Read MoreYarrow salve is a natural remedy for bee stings, rashes, minor cuts, burns, and abrasions. Learn how to identify, forage and wildcraft with yarrow as well as make your own yarrow salve at home for your natural first aid kit.
Read MoreAs this season of rising and restless energy matures into the bright season of vitality, I’m here with an update. Despite the hardships, there is still an abundance of beauty and good things that grow.
Read MoreIt’s seemed like a long time coming, but we’ve finally planted trees along our northern border. After considering and imagining countless trees and tall shrubs of all varieties, I elected to plant a dozen Green Giant Arborvitae trees. This hedge of trees is already transforming the feeling in our backyard and I can’t wait to watch them grow together in the coming years. After so many long days of toiling, moments like this make rewilding this land all worth it.
Read MoreFor many novice gardeners, knowing what to do in the garden throughout the year can be challenging As your faithful master gardener, I’m here to dispel the myth that gardening is only done in spring. To simplify your gardening to do list here’s a comprehensive list of what to do in the garden during each season.
Read MoreTo bathe or cleanse oneself in wild waters is a gift everyone should experience in their lifetime. It is not at all like a swim, a shower, or even a tub soak at home. A wild water bathing cleanse transports the naked to a transcendental state of mind. Here it is possible to commune with the spirit of the river and the betrothed land in which it penetrates. Here it is possible for the secrets of the land and the heart, that have long been locked up frozen, to flow freely.
Read MoreHope. There are few acts more full of hope than beginning a garden during a time of plague and warfare. The very act of sowing seeds is a courageous statement that tomorrow will bloom again. Holding this belief close to my heart I converted my dinner table into a potting bench for the day and got to work sowing seeds for my Spring garden.
Read MoreForaging and wildcrafting is an amazing way to connect to nature anytime throughout the year. Knowing what plants are doing in each season as well as what’s available to forage has helped me develop an intimate relationship with my landscape. To help you develop fundamental knowledge of foraging and wildcrafting through a seasonal year, I’m sharing a list of what to forage in each season.
Read MoreThere are few things in life more joyful than going for a walk in nature, identifying a plant, then foraging and wildcrafting with it to create a delicious meal or medicinal herbal remedy. Engaging in the ancient and beautiful tradition of foraging and wildcrafting is an enriching practice that intimately bonds us with the natural world. Although, foraging of any kind has an impact on the environment. Here’s a handy checklist covering safe, sustainable, and ethical foraging practices that all foragers should review before foraging and wildcrafting.
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