Darkness, going inward ⭐🌔⭐

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View this email in your browser & see past newsletters Create - Enhance - Restore Issue 12-2023 Seasonal Greeting Permaculture Principles Special Offers and Services!! Moon Gardening Monthly Tips Eco-Restore provides consultation services and designs sustainable, regenerative and healthy gardens. Incorporating native, edible, and medicinal plants to enhance habitats for the benefit of people and the planet.  Hello friends, It takes a conscious effort to not get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Time reflecting about the ways I have changed, where or how I want to spend my holidays, and what has become more important for me to celebrate has shifted my perspective on this season of the year. The wintertime and end of year darkness asks us to quiet the mind and body. After a full year of going and doing, now is the time for being. The shorter days and longer nights invite and allow more time for rest, recovery, and renewal. Rushing from store to store, buying gifts, cooking large meals, and squeezing the same long work hours into these short days can leave us feeling drained or asking ourselves “why can’t I get it all done?” Because we aren’t supposed to be going and doing at the same level day after day, all year long.  When have you taken the time to just BE?! Remember the prompt way back in September to watch the leaves fall and return nourishment to the Earth?  For the remainder of the holiday season, every few days I challenge you to observe the now barren trees and shrubs, the flowers that were not dead-headed, and the leaves and branches on the ground. Then imagine the subtle movements occurring underground — of roots taking in nutrients, earthworms lining their tunnels with leaves, water percolating rich soil to refill the aquifer you drink and bathe from, and mushrooms releasing spores for the next generation of decomposers. Knowing that just because you don’t see the busy-ness and frenzy all around we are still growing, shedding, and rebuilding for the next season—you can give yourself permission to follow suit.  Said perfectly from a new client, “and in the darkness of this season, find peace and acceptance with resilience.” In gratitude, ~ Lisa Each month this email is sent as a newsletter and posted to The Bee’s Knees Blog. If there is a topic you would like to learn more about or share with other readers please send a message or give a call!! Refer a friend - Receive Free Native Plants! Permaculture is the application of a set of ethics & principles to care for the whole Earth and all of its inhabitants. Originally from the term 'permanent agriculture,' now has expanded for applications to all landscape scales and other areas of life. The three core tenants are the foundational ethics that guide each principle: Earth Care ~ People Care ~ Fair Share Principles may often be listed numerically in text for the sake of organization, however, in reality they are cyclical, can be applied in any order and are all linked to each together in a web. Start wherever you are! Below is and introduction or a refresh of one of the 12 principles surrounding the core ethics. To see previously shared principles check out The Bee's Knees post's here Creatively Use and Respond to Change Change can be a catalyst for new opportunities, not as something we can necessarily control but a chance to grow and expand. Change is inevitable in all aspects of life, the measure of its effectiveness depends on how we respond to each situation.  Take composting for example; say you grow and eat a lot of vegetables thus creating an abundance of vegetable scraps or “waste” The simple solution would be to throw your vegetable scraps in your green bin, which creates more issues at our waste dumps. A more creative solution would be to turn those scraps into compost which can be used in your veggie garden again, or to feed your vermiculture (worms) operation which in turn gives you castings and worm juice which can be used to nourish the soil in which you grow your vegetables.  As we complete this closed system, coming full circle into the next level of a regenerative culture, we look back at our first principles and begin again. “Vision is not seeing things as they are, but as they will be” The butterfly is a positive symbol of transformative change in nature, from its previous life as a caterpillar. The proverb reminds us that understanding change is much more than a linear projection. Icon Image credit: Permacultureprinciples.com Special offers for the month of December Give a Garden Looking for that unique gift for someone who has everything? How about a gift that keeps on giving?! Options include Specialty Garden packages or 1-year of personalized coaching in your garden!   Order one for yourself or as a gift for a garden lover in your life. Call by the end of the month to get 20% off your package! Click the orange button below to get started. December Consultations Available: 2 Moon Gardening Since time immemorial our ancestors have lived, told time, fell in love, passed down stories and tended the gardens by the light of the moon. I would like to offer the opportunity to learn and engage with our only true and beloved satellite while digging in the soil and while walking other paths of our lives.   How does it work - different phases of the moon provide different energies for working in the garden (and all aspects of our lives) to support a specific task or goal. This is related to but not exactly the same as planting by Astrological days. There is some overlap and you can do both concurrently or choose only one. In these posts I will focus on where the moon is in the sky and what energies that may bring you and your gardens. The Moon, as you all know, directly affects our gravity and the tides. Did you realize it affects gravity on everything - all water on Earth; in our bodies and down to the water in single cells of plants and animals. Where are we now? Winter Solstice in Pisces - Waxing Half Moon Solstice lands beautifully between the new (dark) moon when we set upcoming intentions, and the growing light from both the full moon and the lengthening of daylight as we pass the solstice.  Pisces heightens our awareness of emotions, compassion and intuition. Run with your imagination. Take care to strengthen boundaries. How can this apply to the garden? Hoping to try something new in the garden this year but did not get to it? Take this quiet(er) time away from the garden to pencil out your plans and trust yourself in trying something new next season. With less available forage for wildlife, now is a good time to check fencing, chicken wire, cover, and greenhouses to protect your winter crops, also check your warm decomposing compost as a place for creatures to get cozy. Moon Garden Plant(s) of the Month Cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum) - Cyclamen is known for its bright flowers, striking heart-shaped leaves, and graceful, mounding growth habit. This plant is a relatively hardy, tuber-grown perennial that thrives in the winter. Native to the East Mediterranean, they are used to hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters. Hellebore (Helleborus spp.) AKA Lenten or Christmas Rose; Hellebores are a unique winter bloomer with a variety of colors, from deep maroon to subtle greens and soft whites. Its large, palmate, serrated foliage make it a nice statement plant. A few December blooming varieties include: Liona, Jacob, Cinnamon Snow, and Vavavoom Pink and White > Try white and deep reds of either plant to show off in the Moon Garden See more of our favorites with Plant of The Week on IG @ecorestoreconsulting  Sources and Resources: Coloring Book of Shadows The Moon Book by Sarah Gottesdiener Time Passages app We'moon 2023: An Astrological Moon Calendar Astrology for the Week Ahead podcast - Chani Nicholas Shop local, Shop small businesses! Please join me in honoring the moon by accepting and celebrating what she has to offer. I look forward to learning more with all of you. To regard this beautiful being in our solar system only as a resource, a trophy, a commodity to exploit for our benefit is beyond unfortunate and will only do us harm in the long run. Moon Phases and their associations.  There are four primary phases, in some resources you may see as many as 9. Here I am introducing the most commonly seen. Please note this list of associations or attributes is not exhaustive, only a foundation to get us started on this journey together. Remember these apply to all aspects of life not just in the landscape. New - Set New Intentions, Start Projects, Renew and Regenerate First Quarter - Take Action, Increase Energy, Let things In Full - Culmination, Complete and Fulfill Last Quarter - Banishing, Let things Go In addition to the phases there are periods of transition. Waxing is the time between new & full; the first quarter Waning is the time between full & new; the last quarter Want to plan and build your own Moon Garden? Reach out today - Click HERE Book a Consultation Today! December Pro-TIPS Get your hands dirty with past posts & tips by visiting the blog: The Bee's Knees - News You Can Use   ~ USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map changed --- check it out! ICYMI - The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map has changed for the first time in 11 years. Many, if not all, gardeners will reference this map at least once during each growing season. Knowing your general zone will set a great foundation for growing the best garden in your location.  “When compared to the 2012 map, the 2023 version reveals that about half of the country shifted to the next warmer half zone, and the other half of the country remained in the same half zone. That shift to the next warmer half zone means those areas warmed somewhere in the range of 0-5 degrees Fahrenheit.” USDA Agriculture Research Services Check out this interactive map to see if your area has changed. We recommend zooming in closely. You can also click on your state to download.  Here is an article about the map changes and other useful information. Have specific questions? Hire an Eco-Restore Garden Coach for seasonal troubleshooting! Are you looking for the monthly What to Plant Now suggestions? Those have moved to our social pages. Please follow us there to see the posters! Eco - Restore Ecological Consulting & Design LLC provides services in Western Washington to Create healthy habitats to nurture and invite native pollinators, birds and wildlife to visit your yard. Enhance soil health and improve water quality by eliminating chemicals and minimizing runoff. Restore degraded sites such as urban lots with compacted lawns and restore native plant communities with low impact restoration techniques. Helping transform your green space into a sustainable, low-maintenance, and thriving landscape by the use of permaculture ethics and principles. Whether you rent or own, have a large yard, or a small patio; you can grow food, save water, create wildlife habitat & much more. Our current services include: Design Packages - For a new landscaping project  Maintenance - Tending landscapes designed and installed by Eco-Restore Specialty Gardens - Great options for smaller spaces  Coaching - Sessions to help gardeners learn and care for their existing landscape  Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*