What is the deal with mistletoe? Why is it hung in a ball shape and why do people kiss underneath it?
I have to admit, I loved the idea of getting caught under this mysterious plant as a young person with someone I wanted very much to kiss. However, I never questioned the logic or lore of this practice.
It turns out mistletoe has not only an interesting place among world legends but also some exciting properties and an important ecological function!
Christmas cactus
Do you want to go green this holiday, literally? Avoiding all the expensive consumer goods and cheap, mass-produced decorations is a great way to cut down on the waste your holiday will produce.
However, what do you give to family and friends that will make a significant impact, have a lasting effect on their lives, and not break the bank?
Plants!
Do you love fresh garden veggies? Do you also live in a cold climate? Have you found yourself wishing you could have fresh vegetables in your backyard through the winter months and not have to rely on expensive produce shipped from far away through the winter?
You are in luck.
Did you know the Christmas holiday has one of the most negative ecological impacts on our planet?
You may not have stopped to think about it this way. However, once you do think about it, it makes sense.
Don’t you love the smell of lavender? There’s nothing better than a natural lavender scent to freshen clothing and linens or to invite a sense of relaxation into a room.
Almost better than the smell of fresh lavender is the sight of the bright purple herb dancing in the sunlight or bunched together and drying in someone’s cozy kitchen.
Did you know there are many uses for lavender, beyond sachets and bath salts?
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.”