If I had to do it over again, I would have planted way more native species in our food forest. In the end, I got my native plant fix by converting my entire front yard into native and/or drought tolerant species (see video here) but when I was first installing my food forest, the popularity and availability of native plants wasn’t as forward-facing as it is now. Of course, it’s important to remember and acknowledge that native plants have sustained indigenous peoples since time immemorial and indigenous stewardship of food forests has been happening for thousands of years.
But in our western culture, it’s books like Doug Tallamy’s Nature’s Best Hope and Mary Reynolds’ We Are the ARK that have captured our imagination and have thousands of people converting their otherwise thirsty lawns into wildlife habitat.
That’s why I’m so excited about my video today. In it, I interview my friend Kate Wilburn, owner of Phoenixes Rising and plant architect of the Living Classroom in Missoula, Montana. The Living Classroom is a 5-year old permaculture demonstration site on a 1/4 acre with over 100 Native species and another 30-40 cultivated species. Kate and I tour her site which includes a living deer fence of native shrubs and trees, we identify several keystone species that she has planted, discuss the importance of native plants and bees, check out her solar radiant dehydrator, and end with the need for community-building during this time.
If you are interested in designing a food forest that includes a lot of native plants, then you’ll definitely want to check out the video and take note of the species that Kate has introduced in her yard. And if you need more guidance in designing your food forest, remember my Food Forest eBook here.