July 30 Column: Permaculture Design

Last fall, I took a course on permaculture because I really wanted to gain a better understanding of what it’s all about. In the final class, we were introduced to Beth Mort, who presented a wonderful lecture on how she uses permaculture principles both in her own life and to help others design their landscapes.

Beth owns Zinnia Designs for that purpose and also grows and sells cut flowers through Snapdragon Flower Farm (which is where these photos were taken). To say she’s a busy lady would be an understatement. But I have never met a more bubbly, enthusiastic gal who believes strongly in the principles of permaculture. In today’s column, I profile Beth and her methods. Here is a link to it in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Beth Mort of Zinnia Designs helps people grow productive gardens.

During the course I took, I learned that permaculture design involves being thoughtful and observant of the conditions around us, taking into account how often we access parts of our landscape, the pattern of the sun across it, the direction the wind comes from, and so on.

I hope you’ll enjoy my column today, as well as this week’s “Everyone Can Grow A Garden!” video below. The topic is on the first pruning you need to do on your tomato plants in order to get a good harvest: