What a difference seven years makes! When I moved into my house in March 2018, the picture on the left is what the yard looked like.
Since then it has been transformed into an oasis of fruit trees, perennial greens, places for the public to sit, solar & rainwater education, stormwater absorption, relief from the heat, housing for various friends over the years, arts & crafts, mental & spiritual wellness, community library, dune wildflower seed-bank, and much more.
The 501 house, my ultimate dream palace and work studio, is more popularly known as “jenny’s corner,” a title I got from Ms Anne Ruby and Mr Steve Miller’s name for the little environmental segment I sometimes share at the BNW and MNW neighborhood meetings.
Getting a variety of trees and other plants to grow in this yard involved a lot of hard work, experimentation, failure.
Many of the techniques I used, especially at the beginning, to get anything established on the chemical-treated, erosion-prone soil were learned from fellow permaculturists who worked in the Jordanian desert, Canary Islands, Arizona desert, and other extremely harsh climates.
Physical deserts — and social deserts — can often be rehydrated, with love and patience and the right tools and mentors. Deep grief can also provide fuel and inspiration.
Praise God/dess and Ancestors!!!