Principles of a Diverse Backyard

Here are the basic principles of my suburban backyard garden:

a) At least 300 genus of plants, with a heavy orientation on medicinals.
b) No chemicals or fertilizers. Reliance on what the garden itself produces.
c) Grow from seed wherever possible.
d) Use the apiary for pollination, not production.
e) Try to avoid carbon emissions, electricity, and artificial watering.
f) Seek natural solutions to pests.
g) Engage affordable solutions (seeds and tools mostly) to create a model that can be followed by any homeowner.
h) Most importantly, I garden for joy and love.

In my neighborhood, all of my neighbors spray various things on their yards and this is common practice around town. Fairfield County, CT also has some of the worst air quality in the country, due to the prevailing wind from New York City and New Jersey, and the presence of two major highways. We also have a terrible problem with deer who, without natural enemies here, devastate most plants shorter than six feet.

I started my backyard garden in the Spring of 2007, and in this blog I am relaying my experiences in the hopes that other people can share in my successes and failures. As more and more people transform their backyards into diverse eco-systems, we can change the air, water, and food quality of entire towns, states, and countries.

I invite and encourage any bee research teams to follow what is happening here. I don't need money, but I could use some guidance in order to maximize the value of this project as an example for the research community.

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