Settling In - Giving Thanks and Full Moons
Hello friends,
As the holiday season arrives you may be thinking about what to give your friends and loved ones - I recommend, with some bias, you think inside the box - the garden box that is.
There are a wide range of options to give a gift that will bring delight for many seasons to come. Now if you are thinking "I don’t know anyone that would want a whole garden for a gift". Imagine giving a small planter box with herbs for your favorite cook, a cut flowers for a friend that likes fresh flowers on the table, touchable and engaging sensory plants for those with kiddos that like to be outside watching butterflies and birds!!
Now can you see yourself giving the love of gardening for a memorable gift?!
Each gift will come with a garden book to help along the way.
Not only is this a great gift that keeps on giving. Materials and products are selected to be as local as possible to minimize their transportation footprint. In our current state of the world I am doing my best to not purchase anything that needs to be shipped into a crowded port or might get stuck in a container somewhere out at sea.
** Gifts can be designed to meet the needs of your recipient - from one to four garden boxes **
Milkweeds for Monarchs & Plants for other Pollinators
In addition to the popular and charismatic Monarch butterfly there are many pollinators in the Pacific Northwest to consider in your gardening practices. Populations of many butterflies, moths, bees and birds have been greatly affected by habitat loss and climate change. There are some simple ways we can all help these fauna (animals) with the flowers (flora) we plant in our gardens. An important piece of planning your garden is to make sure you have food, and habitat resources for all life stages. For example the monarch will only lay its eggs on milkweeds for the caterpillars to eat when they emerge.
While we often only think of bees and butterflies as important pollinators, there are many others to care for in the gardens. Some examples are ants, beetles and flies.
Each have unique needs we can help with - and benefits they offer us in return.
It’s not too early to PLAN for your spring pollinator garden now!
If you would like to plan your own pollinator garden here are some great resources:
Xerces Society - Building Pollinator Habitat in Towns and Cities: Pacific Northwest Region (video)
Monarch Plant List
Bee ID cheat sheet
Columbia Land Trust - A Primer for Pollinators
Need help? Contact Eco-Restore Today!
Online links for reference - Shop local, Shop small businesses!
I do not receive compensation for any affiliate links in email or on website.
November Pro- Tip
Get your hands dirty with posts, tips and offers by visiting the blog
The Bee's Knees - News You Can Use
Remember Tips are generally for zone 8a-b in western WA. If you have specific questions or would like a specific topic covered, contact me. It is going to get busy very quickly so I will post a couple of December TIP's here if you like to plan ahead.
~ Garden clean up - Find a couple of nice sunny days to complete the checklist of putting the garden to bed. You might still need to pull a few weeds, pile leaves and twigs in the compost, clean and store tools, hoses, wash and dry your gloves.
Check out - the above Fall Season Checklist for more!
~ Finish sowing winter cover crops like clover and rye to replenish nutrients and organic matter for next year. Look for blends with legumes and grains together.
~ (Dec) Order or purchase local bulbs, get a seed catalog (make your list with a friend while connecting for the holidays)!!
~ (Dec) Look up your local spring late frost date and mark it on the calendar.
Count backwards and also mark when 8 - 6 - 4 - 2 weeks before the last frost date is on the same calendar. After you get your seeds organize them by when they need planting (indoors or out). Now here is your late winter/spring To-do list !!!
~ Have an unanswered question? Book a 30 - min coaching call to start growing your best garden yet!
Seattle from Alki
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 for you all to learn more and engage with our only true and beloved satellite while digging in the soil and while walking other paths of your lives.
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.
~ How does it work - different phases of the moon provide different energies for working in the garden (and all aspects of our lives) and support a specific task or goal. This is related to but not exactly the same as planting by Astrological days.
For more background information visit and bookmark the blog webpage or the July 2021 post for the full introduction.
~ Where are we now?
There is a spectacular partial Lunar eclipse with the Full Moon tonight and tomorrow.
This eclipse is the last one of the year and is the longest since the 15th Century WOW. It also is the start of a series of eclipses that go into 2023!
Use the link above to see it live and the map of its path.
You may recall Full moon is a time for culmination, think about any lingering tasks you have from the last couple of months - Complete and Fulfill them. Put them to bed like you did in the garden!
Full moons are a great time to give thanks (conveniently this one falls so close to Thanksgiving in our culture).
Think about some of your favorite holiday foods, what can you grow in the garden to harvest this time next year?
It's also a time to practice your spell work. Continue honoring ancestors by creating an altar of a beloved. Use photos, candles, serve their favorite food or drink, set out one for yourself and one for them. Go a step further and write a letter or ask a question. Ask for the answers to come in your dreams.
~ How to apply this in the garden?
Be sure to note your season (cool or cold) and your zone to choose the best fall or over-wintering plants.
Plant root vegetables, bulbs, sow cover crops. Harvest remaining vegetables and fruits of your labor.
Again write down what has been going well and what you may do differently next year.
November Moon Garden Plant Favorites:
Artemisia
Tall Oregon grape
Winter flowering Jasmine
Winter Daphne
Sources and Resources:
Planner for a Magical 2021 (my most favorite day planner)
The Moon Book by Sarah Gottesdiener
Online links for reference - Shop local, Shop small businesses!
I do not receive compensation for any affiliate links in email or on website.