Spring and Biodiversity

Every spring I add, focus on, learn about or bring in something new to my little homestead. From making kombucha to starting a worm farm, planting an orchard or having meat birds last year, I am always looking to expand, grow and learn something exciting and beneficial.

Last year I had one of my worst gardening years for insects. Of course there is always bug pressure but last year it tipped the scales and my harvest was significantly impacted. Zero zucchini….seriously?? I am usually drowning in them. 3 tomatoes total? Ummm huh??

It got me thinking more and more about biodiversity and my little homestead’s ecosystem.

A lot of the methods I follow are in line with permaculture gardening. I knew I was severely overrun with non beneficial critters, so how could I balance things out and bring back the beneficial insects naturally.

After stumbling across a podcast on regenerative flower farming, It was like a sign that slapped me right across the face….of course…..Flowers!

This year is my year to expand and diversify. Up until this point the only flowers I have really ever grown were marigolds and calendula. Sprinkle in a couple borage plants, nasturtiums that always seemed to die mid-season and the odd lily or rose bush I’d been gifted.

Maybe the reason for all the bad insects were because I had no good ones. What do bugs & bees really love? Flowers. I have since been a very traditional veggie gardener. Why would I waste the space on growing pointless flowers when I could be growing food?….right?….righhhhtttt??? Ugh…wrong.

This is definitely a very limited mindset, especially for someone who strives for a permaculture focused homestead. I am ashamed it has taken me this long in my permaculture journey to get here. I honestly just never ever desired to grow flowers before.

I have successfully grown medicinal herbs here for a few years and each year that list of herbs grows. This year however, it will be growing exponentially.

Between more herbs and the colossal amount of flowers I plan to grow this season, my goal is to make this ecosystem hospitable again for all the beneficial insects, bees and critters that have been depleting year after year.

The other thing I have been deep diving into is Native plants and why they are so very important to our ecosystems. I have multiple natives growing here already and I hope to add a lot more this season. Specifically grasses and oak trees.

I am currently reading Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in what it means to truly steward the land. We can all grow veggie or flower gardens, but to actually steward the land and return it to an ecological heaven is ultimately how we can all do our part in this chaotic time we’re in.

By healing my land through diversification I hope to dive deeper into the relationship I have with Mother Earth and the ecosystem I reside in.

In this season I am being called to grow flowers and I am optimistic that this is the most beneficial step in my permaculture journey. For my land and for my own healing.

I hope you follow along as I learn the ins and outs of cut flowers, perennials and native plants. I have a lot of work ahead of me but I am confident in my goals.

I will continue to share what I learn along the way, and hopefully more often. Writing is just as important to me as growing things and I know the two belong together in my story.

Some Flowers I will be growing this Season:

• Zinnias
• Chrysanthemums
• Dahlias
• Herbs - Basil, Yarrow, Chamomile, Feverfew, and more
• Sunflowers
• Celosia
• Statice
• Strawflowers and more!

I will also be growing more heirloom veggies this season and focusing more on what we actually eat and what I can realistically process and store in one season.

The other thing I will be adding to the homestead this season is a farm stand. It has been in the back of my mind for years, but fear has prevented me from bringing it into fruition. Living off of a highway, down dead end roads might not be the most ideal location, but I am confident that what I have to offer will be worth the drive. I’m not sure when it will be complete but it is on the docket for the 2025 season.

Gosh my goals for this Spring are hearty and dreamy this year haha. Wish me luck!

Are you planning anything new and exciting this season? Leave a comment and let’s hold each other accountable to this wild and green journey we are all on.

-K