Eco-Restore turns 5 💐!

Growing the team and more gardens.

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Create - Enhance - Restore
Issue 5-2023
Seasonal Greeting
Permaculture Principles
Moon Gardening
Monthly Tips
Specials and Services!!
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,

The snow and frost are beginning to recede, the earliest wildflowers emerge from their winter slumber - under a blanket of leaves and duff left behind by the loving gardener to continue the cycle of life-death-life. The white petals of the Western trilliums peek out of the dark understory to draw me closer, the cheerful display of the dandelions brings a smile to my face and a nibble on a fresh Red flowering currant flower for one drop of nectar reminds me to be present in each season as it unfolds.

Enter this month with an eye (ear, nose, touch & heart too) towards the spaces you might normally quickly pass by and try to connect a little longer, a little deeper. See what shows up or what draws you in for a closer look.

This season brings much joy, collectively, and for me personally, as new milestones are reached - and I am filled with gratitude you are all here to have helped make it happen!

Eco-Restore is celebrating Five Years of growing beautiful spaces, meeting new gardeners and garden creatures, and sharing the successes and troubles of working with the living world. In addition to me, the team now has two employees, and two contractors working magic behind the scenes to bring you the best services possible!

Additionally, this month Eco-Restore headquarters has moved to a new location. Now based out of the north sound in Skagit county we are excited to unfold the next chapter of our story. While our service area will change slightly, our existing clients will still be cared for & we can reach new audiences ready to transform their gardens!

Stay tuned for an invite for a plant walk or to see the nursery sometime soon. 

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!!

Growing the team - Welcome Jess! 


Jess is joining this field season as our Landscape Installation and Maintenance Assistant. She will be expertly tending and fine tuning our previously designed landscapes to be at their very best and turning new garden ideas into reality. Join me in welcoming another garden-guru to the team!


Bio: Jess is currently studying in Bastyr Universities Holistic Landscape Design & Permaculture program. She has over five years of landscaping, horticulture and conservation experience while working through non-profit organizations, private companies, and freelance work abroad. Jess has a passion for plants and their ecological importance when creating harmonious outdoor spaces. As a master gardener through Arizona State University, Jess enjoys all aspects of gardening education and believes in the importance of sustainable systems when considering how humans interact with their environments.

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 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


Use & Value Renewable Resources & Services

Nature provides abundant resources and ecosystem services. Can we be more aware of and reduce consumptive behavior and dependence on non-renewable while enhancing renewable resources?

Ways to use and value renewable resources in the garden:
- Place sun loving and shade providing plants to the south side of homes and buildings to 'capture and store energy'
- Water the soil with drip or soaker lines instead of overhead sprinklers to minimize evaporation and transpiration
- Let your ducks or chickens roam to eat bugs while dropping  organic fertilizer on the soil

 

“Let nature take its course”

The horse icon represents both a renewable service and renewable resource. It can be used to pull a cart, plough or log and it can even be eaten (not generally in our culture). As well as provide beauty and joy with its inherent values.
The proverb “let nature take its course” reminds us that control over nature through excessive resource use and high technology is not only expensive, but can have a negative effect on our environment.

Icon Image and description credits: Permacultureprinciples.com

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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?

Beltane or May Day - celebrated May 1 or ancestrally on the second full moon after the spring equinox - this year it lands on May 5th

During this time we celebrate the sun bringing good weather, warming the fertile lands of abundance, and passion for the Earth and each other.
 
Receive the energy of the Full Moon to aid in the Culmination or Completion of a project

Beltane (and similarly Samhain) is a time of year when the veil is incredibly thin, and our ability to interact with the spirit realm and ask for the favor of the gods is enhanced. Credit www.teaandrosemary.com/


How can this apply to the garden?

Use this time of joy and energy to plant seeds or starts in the garden. What you sow now will sustain you and your community for the season ahead. 


Moon Garden Plant of the Month
Plant both Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) & Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) this month for unusual and unique plants to enjoy in mid-summer. For more on Motherwort see last June or August's blog posts.


See more of our favorites with Plant of The Week on IG @ecorestoreconsulting 


Sources and Resources:

Coloring Book of Shadows (my favorite day planner)
The Moon Book by Sarah Gottesdiener
Time Passages app
We'moon 2023: An Astrological Moon Calendar


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!

May Pro-TIPS

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

Pant your gardens! With seeds and starts for a full season of harvesting.
 

~ Here in zone 8 plant squash, tomatoes, okra, Blazing star, and more. Plant according to your zone and microclimate!!

~ Incorporate organic compost with new plantings, fertilizer should not be necessary.

~ After planting top with organic, non-dyed mulch or wood chips.

~ Water everything in right after planting and daily for about a week. 

~ Plant woody perennials before the end of May (salvia, blueberries, yarrow, lavender, rosemary)


Have a specific question? 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!

Join us in No-Mow May to leave a patch of grass for flowers and insects, or even better, convert and dedicate a space to a meadow for year-round enjoyment!

To get started, we recommend using local seed suppliers, here in the PNW we use PT Lawn Seed and Northwest Meadowscapes If you need assistance picking the right mix for your site send us a message consult@eco-restore.com

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Throughout the year I try to remind folks to think about using poison in and around the house and yard. This is where each of us have to find our own range of tolerance (last months permaculture principle) for which pests and how many we allow to visit and take up residency. As we build gardens that welcome wildlife, how do we invite some life in and not others?
When you do find your limit and decide to repel or deter certain pests such as slugs, rats, ants, spiders - I ask that you really read the fine print and think about how it will (not if) affect others in the food chain. For example you may be an avid gardener and birder, but not think about the rat poison in the back of the garage or under that old shrub in the corner. The rat eats the poison, then wanders around the neighborhood a few days, then slowly dies of dehydration and shock. Then an unsuspecting bird of prey eats the rat and soon after dies as well. This might have been the very bird you were hoping to attract to the yard.

Consider alternatives such as urine repellent, sonic or water emitters, fragrant plants, etc.
Click the image to see an old post for more information!

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. 

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