Tag Archives: plant ID

Plant Guild Workshop

Posted on by Bill Wilson

A Full Day with
Author of the Plant Guilds e-Booklet

Next Scheduled Workshop   —  Saturday, August 17th  –  9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
Price:  $95.00  Includes Lunch and printed copy of the Plant Guilds eBooklet  ($20 value)
At Midwest Permaculture in Stelle, IL  (Limit 24 Students)

Register Online  -or-  Call 815-256-2215 (Voice Message or Text 815-782-2216)

Bryce will Cover the Essentials:

  1. What is a Plant Guild
  2. What are the Key Elements
  3. What are the Functions we are Designing For
  4. What, Where & When Should we Plant
  5. How Plant Guilds make up a Food Forest
  6. Locating Key Plant Databases and How to Access Them online
  7. Sources for Good Plant Stock

Students Will Also:

  1. On Walk — Identity Naturally Formed Plant Guilds
  2. See Plant Guilds Created by Midwest
  3. Help Design and Actually Plant a Guild with Bryce
                            Bring Your Gloves…!!!  

Private Consultations with Bryce… If you have a specific project and would like Bryce’s undivided attention and recommendations, we will set a few private, 1-hour appointments on Saturday evening and Sunday Morning.  Call ahead to reserve… or… seek out Bryce following the should you feel you still need additional assistance. Price: $95.00/hr.

 Bryce Ruddock - Plant Guilds eBooklet

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Plant ID Walk: Table Rock (mesa)

Posted on by Sarah Spotten

This post is made by one of our students as part of their PDC Completion Home Correspondence Course.

My husband and I took a walk one day in early summer up to the top of a on his parents’ land near Springs, called Table Rock.  The environment on top of the is very dry, very rocky, and very windy, and as a result much of the flora hugs the ground closely.  It is the first place on the ~80-acre parcel of land to dry out in the summer.  There are small caves and splits in the rock at the top that create wildlife habitat and microclimates.  A lot of wildlife calls Table Rock home, including mountain lions, bats, deer, foxes, raccoons, hawks, and falcons.  In a permaculture design, the marginal land on top of Table Rock and its steep sides would be best left to nature as Zone 5.

Here is a sampling of some of the plants found on Table Rock:

Stonecrop (Sedum stenopetalum):

Stonecrop (Sedum stenopetalum)

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Plant ID Walk: Around the Pasture

Posted on by Sarah Spotten

This post is made by one of our students as part of their PDC Completion Home Correspondence Course.

My husband’s parents raise Scottish Highland cattle on the high plains of .  Besides the grasses that the cattle eat, there are many interesting “weeds” and other plants growing in the pastures.  In this hot and dry year, as spring officially became summer in June, the pasture grasses had already gotten too sparse for the Highlands to be able to feed themselves, they are now being fed with hay and off the pasture so that it can recover.  Meanwhile, most of the native (and non-native) “weeds” in the pasture, more drought-tolerant than the grasses, are still thriving.

Here is a sampling of some of the plants found in an example pastureland on the high plains of Colorado:

Miner’s candle (Cryptantha virgata):

Miner's candle (Cryptantha virgata)

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Internet Resources for Identifying Plants

Posted on by Sarah Spotten

This post is made by one of our students as part of their PDC Completion Home Correspondence Course.

Here is a list of Internet databases and other that I’ve found helpful in identifying plants and their potential uses in permaculture designs.

General

North American native plants

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