Longer and warmer days to emerge from our shadows ⛅🌔

Feb 1

Written By Lisa Miller

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Create - Enhance - Restore

Issue 2-2023
Seasonal Greeting
Permaculture Principles
Moon Gardening
Monthly Tips
Offers

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,

As we emerge from the darkest days of the winter and re-enter into the light, use the momentum of rolling into the new year and harness that energy to propel you forward.

Over the last couple of months the focus has been on turning inwards for rest, reflection and reintegration. Now is the time to take what you observed and were gently beginning to interact with - shift that energy outwards and upwards to your highest good. Maybe it's a shift in a whole new direction, launching new projects, budding new relationships, or embracing new challenges. No matter what has appeared before you, this is the time to build your solid foundation to carry you through the rest of the season (or year).

A passage to celebrate Imbolc - New Year on the Celtic Wheel of the Year

Here we are in seed time, dream time, looking for the cracks of light that tell us to stretch out and grow. We are invited to consider this possibility: What if there is nothing wrong? What if there is no too slow? What if we live a miracle every single day, and we don't have to earn it?

As the first shoots of tentative growth begin to lift, and we sense the beginning sparks of possibility, of new ways of being, we may sit, curled and waiting. Uncover what is enough. Not in the sense of playing too small, but the kind of enough that allows our hearts to expand and our shoulders to loosen, that allows creativity to blaze and joy to bloom, the kind of enough that opens space in our lives to hold ourselves and our seed dreams. darkness and silence can hold both the sparks of our dreams and the embers of our hopes, We are our own seeds of promise. ~ Molly Remer

Thank you for being here on this journey with me and with Eco-Restore.
Stay healthy, happy and keep your hands in the soil.
~ Lisa

Each month this email is sent as a newsletter and posted to The Bee’s Knees Blog where you will find the following:

~ A seasonal greeting message of a pertinent theme or energy for that month, followed by available consultations and other news.

~ An introduction or refresh of one Permaculture Principle. Conveniently, there are 12 so it works out perfectly as we follow the Gregorian Calendar

~ Moon Gardening; exploring cycles and themes of the moon and other celestial bodies, and of course noteworthy plants of the month.

~ Tips of the month to help you grow your best garden yet!!

~ Monthly or seasonal offer of service

If there is a topic you would like to learn more about or share please send us a message or give a call!!

Consultations Available: February - 4

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. Those ethics are
Earth Care ~ People Care ~ Fair Share

Principles may 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!

Catch & Store Energy

Looking out the window to the gardens we are shifting focus to the land - catch & store energy. Last month we were busy daydreaming of new plants and projects while it was too cold and sleepy outside - now it is time to get out and bring those dreams to life.
Did you observe areas of the garden that were soggy or holding water? Or a downspout just overflowing towards the street? Maybe you noticed a brick wall staying just a bit warmer than its surroundings?

Determine what energy sources you can collect when abundant to store for later use.

Water – for direct use or energy

Sun – thermal mass, photosynthesis

Food – milk to cheese, canning, drying

How might you capture those energies and redirect them into the garden for use where and when you need it?

Consider placing a rain garden, rain barrel, water-loving plants, heat-loving plants where they will do their best!

“Make hay while the sun shines”

This icon for this design principle represents energy being stored in a container for use later on, while the proverb “make hay while the sun shines” reminds us that we have a limited time to catch and store energy.

Image credits: Permaculture Principles.org

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?

The Moon enters Cancer the 1st-3rd and is in the Gibbous phase heading towards a Full Moon.

Now is a time for positive affirmations, moving forward and towards new developments.

When the Moon is in Cancer, in any month, it is “an auspicious time to be at home, reflect, and get in touch with your feelings. A time to focus on family and love.”

Imbolc is the middle of winter, halfway between winter solstice and spring equinox.

The time is fertile for grounding, recalibration and self-reflection.

Imbolc is celebrated by lighting candles and preparing for spring. Celtic Goddess Brigid, turned Catholic Saint, may be present in your celebrations. Brigid is a “nurturer…her miracles and magic show us that there is always enough to go around, if you are in need - ask for and accept help”

How can this apply to the garden?

Reflect on the seeds that were sown (goals you set) at the New Moon almost 2 weeks ago - are you ready to cultivate them in the light of the Full Moon? There is still time to revisit them if you have gotten busy.
Are you ready to plant something new - a veggie you want to eat more of, a flower that you love to see on your walks or maybe try a new garden building project! Prepare your tools and supplies soon so you are ready when the Full moon energy arrives.

Moon Garden Plant of the Month

Cornus sericea - Red-osier dogwood (redtwig) is a year-round winner with its clusters of white blooms in the spring and its fiery stems in the winter. Native people use the bark for many applications from medicines, weaving, smoking. It is also an important resource for wildlife in the winter.

Sources and Resources:

Coloring Book of Shadows (my favorite day planner)
The Moon Book by Sarah Gottesdiener
The Herbal Academy
Time Passages app
The Complete Book of Herbs by Lesley Bremness

Shop local, Shop small businesses!

While you are learning more about the moon’s seasons, energy, power and spirit I ask that each of you also consider how you can help protect her - right now (and for some time really) there has been an assault on the moon. 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.

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.

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

Share with a friend to Grow Together!

February Pro-TIPS

Get your hands dirty with past posts & tips by visiting the blog:
The Bee's Knees - News You Can Use

~ Last chance - Grab your calendars and 3-4 colored pens!! Look up your local spring late frost date and mark it on the calendar.

Count backwards to note when 8 - 6 - 4 - 2 weeks before the last frost date is on the same calendar.

~ Take inventory of your seeds; what do you need to replenish, what do you have surplus to share? I organize them by when they need planting (indoors or out) so I am ready to go over the next few weeks. Download this page to get started.

~ Do you have old seeds that you are not sure if they are still viable? Lay a paper towel on a plate and moisten it, add up to 10 seeds set aside for 3-5 days (keep moist) - if about half germinate go ahead and use them up. If not just toss them out to the birds (somewhere you don’t mind if a few pop up magically)!

Have a specific question? Hire a Garden Coach for a single session or a year-long package for seasonal troubleshooting!

Start Here Today !

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

*Be on the lookout for a few different services and products launching throughout the year.

Consultations Available: February - 4