Hi! I'm Danielle and I'm from sunny South Florida. My husband and I have a very small backyard that we have jokingly dubbed a "hobby farm." When we first moved in, we had a cat. Now, five years later we still have the cat, but we've added a little bit more life.

On our tiny patch of land, we have two cats, a dog, 11 chickens, two bee hives, 1,500+ lady bugs, a mealworm farm, herbs, perennial fruit and vegetables, and two types of compost piles. Right now, everything we're growing is in containers or raised beds (except our bananas) but ultimately my goal is to create an urban Permaculture oasis with as little waste as possible.

I have always loved nature. Something in me gravitated towards plants more as my anxiety intensified and I found that working in the dirt helped me put aside my busy mind for a little while and have some stillness (those of us who are anxious can truly appreciate stillness). The more I realized that plants are predictable and rewarding, the more of my time I wanted to spend reading about and working with plants.

I stumbled across Permaculture while researching composting methods on YouTube. With each video I watched, I found myself becoming more and more enthralled about the concept of leaving your own little patch of earth better than you found it. It's all upside! You improve the quality of your own land so that you can grow healthy, nutrient dense food in abundance so there is enough to share, while creating environments for wildlife, all without worrying about planting an annual garden. Pest management is handled in a safe way with beneficial insects.

Everything Hubby and I are both interested in tie into this practice seamlessly. By the time I discovered Permaculture, we already had bees, ladybugs, chickens, and a small herb garden.

Our future plans involve moving to a much larger plot where we can start to grow in the ground and expand our hives.