Blog
Welcome to The Sparrow Underground Blog!
February 20th, 2024
We have an opportunity to strategically PLANT and INCREASE the size of our "buffet tables" with strategic plants native to our region. Even the relatively SMALL spaces can help grow back that bounty and even DRAMATICALLY INCREASE biodiversity! AND we can do it in a way that uses fewer resources and looks beautiful, too! One way to do this is with staggered blooms. Learn what native flowers can add the most to your backyard meadow, border or landscape.
Check out the rest of the blog here!
December 5th, 2023
As we inch closer to the shortest days of sunlight of the year, the very act of slowing down - of leaning in - to this season of dormancy can also be a way to also lean more deeply into resilience. At a time when the holidays are right around the corner and work and school deadlines loom closer before the end of the year, our inclination is to get busier. To do more. And yet we often feel the need for less -to rest - deep within our bones. How do we lean more deeply - almost like a spiritual practice - into the dormancy this season?
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September 27th, 2023
What if there was someone on every street corner or neighborhood who knew how to plant and propagate trees? What if every neighborhood had native, hardy and edible seedlings onhand to replant, diversify and strengthen the resilience of our neighborhoods? Imagine if there was always a surplus of important tree, shrub, and perennial edibles seedlings for replanting after extreme weather like drought, a tornado, a fire, or a flood... AND did you know that you can propagate several tree seedlings in as little as one square foot of space?!
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The Shift: From Consuming to Producing
August 17th, 2023
"For me one of the greatest ways I tap this shift is with foraging. When I harvest a bounty of wild black raspberries or Juneberries (as I did earlier this summer), I often feel overwhelmed with gratitude for this gift. The sheer volume of production that is possible from a single plant humbles me. It stirs a feeling of deep gratitude and a desire to want to give back."
How does participate fully in the gift and give back? Read more of the blog here.
June 9th, 2023
Trees are RESILIENCE in a landscape! And the Juneberry is certainly one of them. Also called Serviceberry or Shadbush or Saskatoon - it has many names! - this beautiful, small street tree has been planted intentionally all around the part of the city where I live as a street tree. And this year it is producing in ABUNDANCE.
Read more of the blog here.
May 2nd, 2023
But what about wild flours? Flours can be made from anything really. Often they are made from ground-up seeds or nuts, occasionally the flesh of fruits or vegetables, and even the husks or outer seed pods. So many flours exist around the world that are rich in flavor and micronutrients sadly lacking in many modern grains! So what of our land's own wild flours with their unique flavors and colors? Read more here.
March 30th, 2023
Seeds or transplants? Some plants grow easily from seed while others grow best when pre-started or grown ahead of time. But what plants are more cost-effective or productive to grow from seed vs. as a transplant? Which ones do you seed directly and which ones do you perhaps buy or carefully plant in a protected area (like inside or in a greenhouse) ahead of time? Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but I’ll share what I do! Learn more in the rest of the blog here.
The Buds and Branches of Wild Edibles
March 24th, 2023
As winter comes to a close, this can be an amazing time to scout out and identify plants by their branches or buds. You can find edibles in the landscape that you want to return to during the summer season OR you can also take a fresh look at a plant you already know and see what the buds look like. Getting to know the details of how a plant grows is like learning a language. You can begin to notice details for health, abundance, # of fruit buds versus leaf buds... but like any language, it takes time to learn.
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February 21st, 2023
Gaining the skills to grow delicious, flavor-packed greens rapidly even in difficult conditions (i.e. WINTER!) is a way to become a more nimble and resilient gardener. Focusing intensively on the goal of abundance also allows us to settle into rhythms that truly work for us. Plus it's just plain fun to see just how many greens you can grow. By focusing on three simple techniques (2 indoors and 1 outdoor), I hope to try and grow a substantial amount of greens in just eight weeks!
Learn how you, too, can grow AWESOME winter greens in the rest of the blog here!
January 13th, 2023
For the last few years, I've had a goal to try five new food plants each year that I've never eaten before. It started as a challenge to me as a forager and naturalist, but later became something more as I realized how few crops we as a society eat compared with traditional and indigenous cultures around the world. And some of these foods have unbelievable FLAVOR you just can't get at the grocery store!
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December 12th, 2022
I was reflecting in my blog this week about a quote from an article on consumerism: how often "consumerism is equated with greed, which is an inordinate attachment to material things" though the theologian William Cavanaugh argues that perhaps it is more "characterized by detachment" or "detachment from people, producers, and products." He suggests one way to counter the many issues with consumerism today is by "cultivating more particular attachment to place, people, and production" and by asking: "When does an exchange lead to a flourishing of the consumer, producer, and all parties involved?"
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Nov 4th, 2022
Native species that are under-represented in our landscapes NEED us. Bluejays and squirrels can only do so much if the source trees are gone from a landscape. We humans can be on the lookout for disease-resistant, strong, and abundant varieties around us as well as where they might be missing. The small act of 'putting a seed in the ground' can support the Return of the Trees that our landscapes still have memories of.'
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