Pendragon

Permaculture Landscaping: Schisandra Berry (Schisandra chinensis) We installed Schisandra at two permaculture sites this week, trellising the specimens on a fence. Personally, I love climbers, and if I find a suitable fence or wall, I’ll grow vertically on it to extend its function. Schisandra, native to East Asia, is a hardy deciduous climber that can tolerate shade and grows in a variety of soils. Fitting the profile of a quintessential permaculture species, meaning multi-f

Today we installed Yamaimo (Japanese Mountain Yam) as part of a permaculture food forest and gardening project on Orcas Island. Yamaimo often makes the species list for our projects by providing a high calorie, delicious, and reliable food source. Here below we are growing Yamaimo in pots filled mostly with sand and a little dirt taken from nearby plantings. Growing in pots makes harvesting the tubers easier: you dump the pot over when you are ready to harvest and they spill

On a recent Orcas Island project, we found an opportunity to grow food and restore PNW natives without deer fencing. For those of you with property that has a history of logging, you may find old, rotted conifer stumps shoulder height or greater. These are natural "planters" for Red Huckleberry, among other species, like salal, in the forests of the PNW that deer can't reach. Rotting stumps act as a sponge, storing rainwater that is critical for huckleberry survival in summer