Heather Jo Flores

Permaculture Womens Guild

A hands-on guide for the frugal beginner to learn permaculture without spending any money.

Permaculture Womens Guild

By Heather Jo Flores By no means an exhaustive selection of great plants for gardening with children, the following twelve plants can all be direct-sown, grow quickly and easily, and are fun to harvest for food, cut flowers, or seeds.​Corn.Popcorn is always a hit with children, and many varieties grow quite well in a home garden. There is also a vast array of interesting Indian corns available, in a rainbow of beautiful colors. Sweet corn is another option, and nothing compares to a fresh ear right out of the garden as a refreshing snack on a September day. Gourds.Small gourds…

Permaculture Womens Guild

By Heather Jo Flores I am primarily a food gardener, but there are a handful of flowering medicinal plants that I always include in my garden. Not only useful for home remedies, they provide beautiful cut flowers, improve soil and attract beneficial insects. Many of the plants listed here are commonly bred and crossbred to produce ornamental variations, so be sure to note the species and choose the non-hybrid option. Ten Medicinal Flowers to Grow ​Here are my 10 favorite medicinal flowers and some tips on how to grow and use them. Angelica (Angelica archangelica)A tall, self-seeding biennial that smells amazing…

Permaculture Womens Guild

So you want to turn your lawn into a front yard garden? Here’s how to stay friends with the neighbors.

Permaculture Womens Guild

they’re easier to build than you might think By Heather Jo Flores Ten reasons to build a greenhouse: Start seeds early (and late!) Many seeds need warmth to germinate and develop into healthy seedlings. If the growing season is short, getting ahead can make a big difference.​Protect tender perennials and grow exotic plants. Increase your yields by extending the range of plants you can grow in your climate!​Protect early blooming fruits (like apricot) from heavy rains. Flowers on fruit trees are often quite delicate and can be damaged by rain, wind or frost, resulting in big losses to your fruit crop…

Permaculture Womens Guild

By Heather Jo Flores What Weeds Indicate About the Condition of Your Soil “Weeds are weeds only from our human egotistical point of view, because they grow where we do not want them. In nature, however, they play an important and interesting role. They resist conditions that cultivated plants cannot resist, such as drought, acid soil, lack of humus, mineral deficiencies, as well as a one-sidedness of minerals, etc. They are witness of man’s failure to master the soil, and they grow abundantly wherever man has ‘missed the train’ — they only indicate our errors and nature’s corrections. Weeds want to tell a…

Permaculture Womens Guild

For people who have their own yard, starting a garden is easy. But for those who don’t have easy access to land, starting a garden takes a little more effort.