permaculture
The Power of Community
Friday, July 3rd, 2009There’s very little that could be more powerful than a group of people with the same goal working together. Last Saturday, after one hour of throwing ideas around, 12 of us permablitzed for 3 hours to transform a neglected patch of yard into a productive herb and vegetable garden. What was achieved in an [...]
It’s not enough that we do our best
Thursday, January 10th, 2008
As more and more reports come in of food shortages around the world (this photo is from The Wire ), Churchill’s words ring in my ears:
“It’s not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required. Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and [...]
Strawberry Fields Forever
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008What an inspiration you are Helen! It seems that it’s time to get this blog on the road again. My son Oscar and I have been busy in the garden for weeks now, watching and learning how nature works. We’ve managed, for example, to save strawberries from the damage caused by months of rain – [...]
The agony and the ecstasy
Sunday, September 30th, 2007
Pear blossoms
Spring is a time of agony and ecstasy. The garden is gloriously alive and the blossoms appearing everywhere are a promise of delicious fruit to come. Ecstasy. Then suddenly the winds start and the blossoms are blown away. Agony. As I try and prepare for our family’s food security into the future, wind [...]
A bite of borage, a shot of courage
Tuesday, September 18th, 2007
Quick, before Monsanto gets hold of the seeds … get yourself a borage plant!
Pliny, and others throughout history, have attributed borage with giving people courage, driving away sadness and depression and lifting the spirits – just what we need to help us tackle global warming!
Pliny called the plant Euphrosinum, because it “maketh [...]
Time is life
Friday, September 14th, 2007Camellia in our Spring Garden
The challenges we are facing with global warming, peak oil, flu epidemics, collapsing stock markets, and mounting stress appear insurmountable. These are all complex problems. Is there any way to build immunity and to survive these diseases of our contemporary world and the illness threatening our planet?
After 2 years of [...]
Paul Stamets & Magic Mushrooms – the web of life
Saturday, September 8th, 2007
Mycelium on decomposing log (photo by Dr. George Knaphus)
Every now and then it is possible to learn something so huge it can almost blow your mind away. Last year it was the severity of global warming. Today, in our permaculture class, it was finding out about Paul Stamets and his theory that mushrooms [...]
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Sunday, September 2nd, 2007Yeeha … it’s Spring. I can’t believe we’ve finally made it. My peas and broadbeans are blossoming and my nasturtiums have sprouted. Though everyone warns me that it’s hard to grow apricots in Blackheath because of late frosts, I’ve decided not to take this lying down. For the first time in my life [...]
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy …
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007Wow this flu has been a doozy! Late night blogging has been out of the question as I’ve attempted to recover. Two things that have helped the most have been sunshine and flowers. Flowers are one of the barometers in my life – if I have fresh flowers in the house I know I’m remembering [...]