Our mission is to inspire a deeper understanding and appreciation of nature, to study the ecology of our region, to restore habitat, and to conserve native biodiversity. We are continuously learning and would love to hear and welcome any ideas on how to create environmentally supportive practices while doing so.

We would love to restore some of the cleared pasture areas into a native grassland and wildlife meadow. We recently reached out to the Land Management Outreach associate, Marie Norwood from the Clifton Institute to visit and share with us the steps in reaching that goal. We are excited to receive this knowledge from such an amazing resource based right here in Virginia.

Our plan is to start small and with a minimal impact to the land, just enough for us to experience the seasons and listen to what the land has to say. We want to steward and protect this land in ways that honor all those folks who lived here before us and loved it as much as we do.

One of our projects is to create a more foot friendly path to the river. Having access to fresh water on the land is truly a dream come true.

We like our front yard(en) spicy, nutritious, and wild. We grow plethora of greens and herbs that are heat and drought tolerant and varieties that enjoy our sunny climate; lettuce, mustard greens, wood sorrel, kale, arugula, nasturtiums, borage, longevity and Okinawa spinaches, just to name a few. Oh, how we’d love to have you around a big table for dinner tonight.

I can’t get over all the beautiful shades these girls lay. We raise these girls to give them the best life possible and in return have some incredibly entertaining friends.

We used to love going out for breakfast, but now we enjoy making it at home fresh from our little plot of land. It’s these sweet moments of daily abundance, generosity, observation, and connection with the seeds and soil, sun and rain, plants and animals that truly keep us grounded ~ moment by moment we are all here, related and connected.

I love the days when I can walk barefoot into the garden and pluck tender salad greens and veggies to enjoy right away. Did you know that produce loses 30 percent of nutrients just three days after harvest?

Oh hey, don't you look all cute in the sun. Feeling so grateful to call this beauty our HOME! A big thank you goes out to all the wonderful family, friends, spirits, and humans for sifting through challenges to make it ours. What a rigorous whirlwind we have navigated together. Here's to much laughter, tears, dance and song, nourishing garden meals and growth. May it always feel like an open and welcoming place to all.

Blessings and love.

Our front yarden lookin’ fly. 🌈🌞✨

A gentle reminder ~ not everything we do and plant and try in the garden is a success, and that’s okey. We have plenty of things get eaten, scorched, crowded, and ruined. We are continuously learning and supporting the eco-system along the way. Have fun, keep trying and exploring, read and learn, eat, share, persevere, and enjoy yourself. And, building/starting a compost pile and raising chickens is a great way to turn your garden ‘waste‘ into eggs and fertilizer ~ a beautiful cycle of partnership to witness.

We have been inspired by many humans in our life, but the most profound inspiration has always been the land we live on. My hope is that this lifelong learning journey of gardening will keep us healthy, joyful, playful, abundant, and passionate for many moons to come.

Deep gratitude to our wonderful tribe for days spent in medicine, connection, warmth, music, dance, celebration, and the magic and teachings of plants and fungi. It is such an honor to hold space in our ever/evolving yarden. These are the things that help keep our hearts open in a time of so much loss and uncertainty. Here’s to our community, the mycelium, and a symbiotic vision that weaves us all together.

Winters in Florida means we have biochar in the making. Did you know that in 1 gram of biochar there’s over 200 square meters of surface area? This incredibly porous material provides a perfect habitat for fungi and bacteria to grow and thrive. In addition, it has a high water holding capacity so it helps keep our soil alive and moist.

Red wigglers' worm castings are:

~ packed with minerals essential for plant growth ~ nitrates, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and calcium.

~ extract toxins and harmful fungi and bacteria from the soil.

~ boost the immune system of the plants preventing and reducing pests intruders.

~ increase moisture retention in the soil.

Thank you worms for helping us divert waste by munching on our food scraps and in return providing us with this nutrient~rich fertilizer full of living microorganisms great for our yarden.

Bare spaces love to be transformed into thriving habitats for birds, bees, and butterflies. Look for tenacious native species that do well in harsh environments with little care. Our curbside garden continues to light up conversations with our neighbors and provide food and shelter for wildlife.

What a blessed privilege the process of growing a plant from seed to harvest to seed again ~ to be shared. Slow, deep connection medicine.

We’re excited to plant, grow, and harvest the Herbalist’s Garden at our homestead. We have dedicated a good portion of our yarden to growing plants that have many medicinal properties that Jasmina uses in her Suntosoulapothecary creations.

As relatively new gardeners, harvest time can be a bit of a surprising adventure. We’ve been learning lots of ways to utilize our bounty. Eating it fresh, sharing with the community and making value-added products are all tricks of the trade.

There’s nothing we love more than working with our friends , family and neighbors on big ol’fancy projects. From our outdoor shower to fences and even an A-frame sauna, we get things done and have fun doin’ it.

Our yarden feels full ~ of wonderful plants, animals, friends, and gatherings. But, the times we most treasure are when it’s just the two of us. We love strolling around it together every evening listening to its sounds.

We love to travel and meet different people who share the same passion for kindness, love, compassion, sustainability, and growth. We have been to Haiti on a mission trip just after three months of dating and really fell in love in such a challenging environment. I captured this photo at White Sands, NM on our month long journey out West. We love our sweet teardrop and take it around everywhere we go.

Art + Science + Philosophy = Design.
Scott has been an artist and student since an early age. From summer art camps to a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, technical certifications and then Permaculture Design. His career wondering through signage, branding, drafting and into building sciences then forensics.

Jasmina, a photographer and writer, from a passion and hobby to profession and lifestyle. We have been slowly integrating our disciplines throughout our endeavors.

We have always been fascinated and obsessed with visual and linguistic communication.

Here, we’ve just completed one of the most rewarding hikes we’ve ever done, surrounded by incredible views then couldn’t say no to jumping into the coldest waters I’ve ever been in. We've traveled to so many amazing places together over the years, legendary doesn't even begin to cover it!

It all begins with healthy soil. This is our finished compost. A rich humus from which life grows. A labor of hard work, love, dedication, and time.

“If you nourish her, she will nourish you.”

My favorite addition is this precious seat where we can enjoy our own quiet. A good place for contemplation and all the time in the world.

We work with local businesses and food pantries to collect and divert waste on a weekly basis. Our Urban Oakstead is also on www.Makesoil.org site as a local food scraps and carbon sources drop-off site for our friends and neighbors.