Have you thought about trying to compost leaves?

Most of us think of the leaves on our trees with a kind of dread, knowing that it will inevitably require a lot of time and backbreaking labor spent raking, mowing, hauling, and burning.

Or we fear what will happen to our lawns or our relationships with our neighbors if we don’t do the yearly raking. I can remember the years of childhood spent raking leaves and getting blisters. The piles were fun to jump in for a while, but mostly it was just a lot of work!

Have you heard of food forests? Do you wonder what they are and how they work?

Since we’ve delved into the subject of permaculture and what it is, I thought it would nice to break it down a little further and to give readers a picture of how one particular aspect of a permaculture farm, or garden, can look.

More specifically, I want to talk about one of the terms I alluded to before: the “Food Forest.”

Have you ever driven by the back of a business, and noticed hundreds of wood pallets stacked there? Have you thought about what you could build with all that free wood? Do you drool over pictures of DIY wood pallet projects?

Wood pallet projects are having a moment right now. With the rise in popularity of industrial and farmhouse design, many designers and handy do-it-yourselfers are flooding the internet with pictures of their gorgeous creations made from reclaimed pallet wood: coffee tables, deck chairs, shelves, bed frames – you name it, someone has probably thought of it!

If you love to arrange fresh cut flowers, consider planting you own cut flower garden. There is something so homey and old-fashioned about the idea of bringing some of the beauty of your garden right into your home.

If you’re tuned-in to the world of gardening, have been in discussion with any Wendell Berry lovers, love to eat at farm-to-table joints whenever you can, or you were a hippie in another lifetime, you might have heard the word “Permaculture.”

Hostas are beautiful shade-loving plants that grow big, lush leaves, and long shoots with purple flowers in late summer. They come in an almost endless variety of colors and shapes – green, blue, silver, variegated, and more. You can get hostas that will stay small and hostas that will make your garden look like a tropical paradise at the height of summer.

Have you ever thought about creating a moss garden?

Moss gardening is one of the hottest new trends in gardening but it isn’t a new trend at all. As with most trends, the enthusiasm and interest surrounding the practice come and goes, and it’s probably based on something that got perfected centuries ago.

Have you ever considered rock gardening?

Rocks have always been a big part of landscaping and gardening. That is because they are found so abundantly in nature. Moreover, gardeners are great at using natural elements to their advantage.

Are there any rock garden pictures you have been drooling over lately? Have you been wishing for a hillside covered in beautiful natural stone and creeping succulents?

Many American gardeners probably aren’t familiar with the French potager garden concept. This is especially true for those who grew up in the Midwest where farms are still abundant and land is plentiful.

What is a Potager Garden?

Potager is pronounced po-toe-jay, and it literally means “for the pot.” As with many other French ideas around gardening, eating, and living, the term used to describe this type of gardening doesn’t do justice to the artistry and beauty the French have brought to the craft.

Do you dream of planting a field of wildflowers in your yard, dotted with several types of fruit trees? Do you have plans to make a strawberry patch, an herb garden, or have lots of flowers in your landscaping?

If you know anything about how plants work, you might also be thinking about bees. For example, how to attract bees to your yard, how to make them stay, or even how to keep them to harvest their honey and wax.