Zero Waste and Bluebirds

Happy First Day of Winter and the Winter Solstice!

Photo: Iowa DNR website

Today I bring you another video with a way to reduce your waste, by building bluebird houses with your wood scraps.  When I build a compost system, fence or raised beds I sometimes have scraps that need to be disposed of.  If they are large enough I like to use them to build birdhouses.

Bluebirds are one of our most loved and useful birds.  They bring a flash of color, and eat a large amount of grasshoppers, beetles and larvae.  Numbers have dwindled significantly due to competition for nesting cavities from the English House Sparrow.  By putting up birdhouses we can help them out and gain some insect eating friends.

Here's more information from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources - Eastern Bluebird

 

Here are the bluebird house plans I used as a base.

Here's a wren house plan if you have smaller pieces.  Wrens are another insect eating machine and do well in town.  Their pretty song is quite loud, so you may want to locate these birdhouses further from bedroom windows.

I won't update the blog over the holidays, so unless you are also following on Facebook, have

a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

 

More Gallery Updates

I've been furiously trying to keep up with several classes I am involved with from Design to Soil Health, as well as working on a project in Urbandale.  The design class has really intensified as far as course work. 

I do have several new blog topics started but don't feel like they have enough information to be "complete."  When ready we will add a couple more under-appreciated plants and techniques for getting more yield from traditionally styled landscapes.


For now I'll share a couple more updates to the Gallery page.


Compost Bins-

 This composting system was made to compliment a backyard garden in West Des Moines for a
family that wanted to reduce their environmental impact and provide a benefit to their garden.




Older Projects

 I built this natural stone retaining wall & tree rings South of Grand Avenue when I was fresh out of college working for Heard Gardens, Ltd. 

I built a lot of stone walls that summer for them, as well as other styles of retaining walls, flagstone and brick patios, tree plantings and perennial flower bed installations.

My crew even planted several trees at the Brenton Arboretum in Dallas Center and Meredith's green space at the West end of Grand & Locust Avenues in downtown Des Moines.

This retaining wall was a rebuild of an existing wall that was showing the effects of time.  We tore down the remaining stones, fixed the slumping hill behind, provided drainage to move water away from the back of the wall reducing the pressure on it, and rebuilt it using the existing stones.  This was my first freelance project and followed it up the next year by doing the upper retaining wall, including a short stairway in the middle.

Large amounts of water flowed down the hill behind this Urbandale home during heavy rains.  This runoff caused flooding in the basement and the homeowner needed a solution.  The dry streambed was suggested as the perfect mix of practicality and aesthetics. 

A channel was dug that moved the water to the side of her home where it continued harmlessly down the hill.  River rock was used to fill the channel, giving it a natural look and resistance to erosion.  Larger boulders and ornamental grasses provided visual interest.



I hope you've enjoyed these pictures of green grass and sunshine!  You can still enjoy the warm weekend, but don't hold it against me if I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas! 

It won't be long and the days will start to get longer again.  I can't wait! 

Thanks for checking in!

2015 International Year of the Soils

The 68th United Nations General Assembly has designated 2015 as the International Year of Soils.

The Food and Agriculture Organization has been nominated to implement the program.  Watch their promo video below.

 

Symphony of the Soil

If you are interested in more, explore the complexity of soil building, mysterious life underground and the soils ability to grow food by watching Symphony of the Soil. 

This version of is available for free stream until December 12 as a lead in to the International Year of the Soils and an effort to help raise soil consciousness.  Beautifully filmed on four continents, the documentary includes various viewpoints from some of the world’s most esteemed soil scientists, farmers and activists.

 

The views expressed in Symphony of the Soil are not necessarily the views of Abundant Design, LLC. 

 

I hope you can find time to watch these videos, learn more about the soil that provides for us, and gain an appreciation for it in the year to come.

 

Thanks for checking in!

 



Backyard Makeover

Well we've had quite the weather ups and downs this week.  About 4" of snow fell earlier, and now today temperatures are in the 50's.  It'll help clean up the icy spots on the driveway and the sidewalks where the snow blew in after it was shoveled.

Between shoveling the drive and eating turkey I updated the Gallery page with one of my first projects as Abundant Design.  Check it out!


Waveland Area Backyard Makeover- After a garage had been refurbished/rebuilt the backyard space was a patch of bare dirt.  We had a nearly blank slate to put any new additions to the yard, but with any rain making a muddy mess we needed to act quickly.
                               
The homeowners had a small concrete slab patio which held their dining set, but they were hoping for a larger space to place a firepit and use for entertaining.  A ninety square foot expansion was built using reclaimed flagstone to meet this goal.  Low maintenance moss will be planted in the gaps.

 A mulched play area where the swing set would be situated was sectioned off with an alternating double brick border.  The existing shrubs and hostas were mulched, to reduce weeds and retain moisture, using a natural edge cut in.  Afterwards the remaining space in the yard was sodded. 

They were also off to a great start with  a small vegetable garden, dual compost tumblers and a rain barrel, but were really interested in perennial crops such as raspberries and strawberries.  Although the yard was heavily shaded by mature trees, there was an area along the property line that had good sun exposure.  This area would provide a planting area for the berry plants that was out of traffics way but allowed easy access to the fruit.  Since it was on a slope, terraced raised beds were installed.

I hope you enjoyed this quick summary of what a project looks like before and after, along with a quick sketch of the plan. 

If you would like to have a project done this coming Spring, or even get a design ready to do it yourself, contact me and we can arrange a time to talk about your productive and sustainable landscaping options!

Have a great week!

Happy Thanksgiving

This week we, as a nation, will celebrate Thanksgiving. A reminder of the Pilgrims' first feasts and celebrations of "giving thanks" to the Creator, during their early struggles at Plymouth colony. 

I want to send out a special thank you to my customers. I am glad I could help you on your journey to a more sustainable lifestyle and bring beauty to your home, with a strong foundation for abundant

yields of the highest quality fruits and vegetables available. In time, I trust the bounty from what we have created will be featured on your Thanksgiving celebration menus. My hope in the future is for those who follow us will be thankful for the trees we've planted, the rich soils we have made and the clean water we've contributed to.

I also want to say thank you to all of you who have supported me in other ways; family and friends who have believed in me and this new adventure I've started. Especially to my wife and kids who have had to put up with me being gone a little more than usual. Those that have helped spread the word of what I am doing, guided me in business decisions and provided help with my videos and blog. I am truly blessed and for that I am Thankful.

Squanto's Garden by Bill Heid

As a thank you gift to you, here is a link to a downloadable .pdf of  Squanto's Garden.

 

"Whether you are an experienced gardener, or just starting out, "Squanto's Garden" has plenty to teach you. The information in this book is designed to help any gardener learn about soil and how it affects the things that grow on it. One of the best aspects of this type of gardening is that you will learn to work with nature, rather than against it. You will learn to create a garden, or transform an existing one, using the same techniques that were used to bring about the first Thanksgiving. You will also learn important and little known information about that early period in American history, and the real truth about the Native American Squanto."

And at the bottom are some printable coloring pages I made for the kids to enjoy!  If dinner gets late it might help keep them busy :)

 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

 

 

 

 

Protecting Plants from Rabbits, and more

The weather has sure changed this week.  The warm start turned into a freezing spell followed with a couple inches of snow yesterday.  In the suburbs rabbits will be putting increased pressure on your planted areas.  Buds and branch tips, especially ones just sticking out of the snow, are easy pickings for our little cottontails.  In the video that goes with this weeks post I'll show you how I installed a temporary fence to encourage the rabbits to look elsewhere!

Other things you might want to be thinking about is mulching your trees, especially newer ones to stabilize soil temperatures and retain moisture. Your garlic and other bulbs will appreciate a good layer of mulch too.  I just put 3-4" of old straw over our garlic.  You can probably prune most trees that need it, as well, but there is no rush as they will be dormant for a few months now.

If you are planning to change over any part of your lawn to garden beds; or the installation of compost bins or other things with posts in the ground you better get on it!  The soil probably won't be workable for much longer.

Have a great week!  Stay warm!

Swords into Plowshares

This week we celebrate Veteran's Day in America.  In today's geo-political climate, the War on Terror stretching on and on, we have more and more men and women to commemorate.  Not to mention our fathers and mothers, cousins and grandparents who may have served our nation from conflicts around the world; Panama, Serbia and Kuwait to Vietnam, Korea and WWII.  These brave men and women have gone when called.  They may have witnessed the unspeakable, and cannot forget what we cannot imagine.  For each of them, we say

"Thank You"
 

There are a multitude of groups around the nation today doing work supporting veterans with their transition to civilian life.  Many of these groups are teaching veterans skills in agriculture, sustainable farming, local food and permaculture.  Homegrown by Heroes, The Valhalla Project, and The Farmer Veteran Coalition are just a few.  These organizations are truly helping vets beat their swords into plowshares.

The following movie trailer is for GROUND OPERATIONS: Battlefields to Farmfields, a documentary and social action campaign championing the growing network of combat veterans transitioning into sustainable farming, ranching and artisan food production careers.

It can be a difficult transition, as the economy has yet to fully recover and many of their new job skills are not directly transferable.  Returning to family life after a long deployment, or having no family and dealing with loneliness, can be a struggle.  And far too often physical injuries add a level of difficulty, or psychological trauma weighs heavily on their mental well-being.  These groups are serving several of these needs.  Career skills training and placement are the most obvious ones.  But also, working in the outdoors, with nature and the soil can bring a sense of well-being that is needed by those who are struggling.

Support these organizations, if you can through donations, purchasing their products or even just sending them a note of encouragement or liking their Facebook pages.  I also encourage you to reach out this week to a veteran family member or friend, and say, "Thank you for your service."  They will probably be a little shy about it, but let them know you truly appreciate their sacrifice.  You and I may not support the wars, but let's support the warriors. 

This week November 9-15, as our way of saying Thank You, we will give a Free 1hr On-Site Consultation (with bubble diagram) for any Veteran or Veteran's group, or 10% off any other service.

               They will live again in freedom
               In the garden of the Lord.
               They will walk behind the ploughshare,
               They will put away the sword.
               The chain will be broken
               And all men will have their reward. — finale of Les Misérables