Permaculture · Sustainable Living · Circular Farming
Touching the soil
changes everything.
For 10 years I've been transforming my garden with permaculture. Honest notes on rare seeds, cuttings and circular living.
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Casimiroa Edulis: A Tropical Tree Surviving 4 Years in Sakarya
Also known as White Sapote, Casimiroa edulis has been in our garden for 4 years. It takes some winter damage each year but bounces back every spring. We haven't seen fruit yet — but we're waiting patiently.
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Pink Lady (Cripps Pink): The Late-Ripening Pink Apple in My Garden
I caught this apple on my tree at an early stage - the pink patches scattered over a green-yellow background and the late ripening timing pointed me toward Pink Lady. There's no confirmed nursery tag, but the visual and seasonal fit is quite strong.
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Kadi 77: Yalova's Registered Early Summer Pear
This pear sapling I got from Yalova Tarim is Kadi 77 - an early summer pear cultivar registered by the Yalova Ataturk Horticultural Research Institute. The first fruits in my garden stayed yellow, but the flavor is genuinely good.
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Vitis vinifera Alphonse Lavallée: The Purple Pearl of the Garden
With its large purple-pink berries and intense aroma, Alphonse Lavallée grape is one of the most spectacular fruits in our garden. Late August harvest, its flavor comparable to nothing in the store.
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Weeping Nootka False Cypress: The Conifer Whose Scientific Name Keeps Changing
This young conifer I've recently added to my garden is the weeping Nootka false cypress - its scientific name has changed hands among botanists more than once, but its drooping, almost weeping branch structure hasn't changed at all.
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Bougainvillea: My Ongoing Struggle to Grow It in the Ground in Sakarya
I still haven't managed to move my intensely magenta bougainvillea from its pot into the ground - Sakarya's winters are tough on this tropical beauty. I've seen it grown large in a few gardens here, but for me it's still an ongoing experiment.
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Lonicera Tellmanniana: The Yellow Honeysuckle That Paints My Pergola Orange
This orange-yellow honeysuckle climbing my garden pergola is Lonicera tellmanniana - a hybrid that brings North America and China together, and now it's putting on a show in my own garden.
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Acer Palmatum Tamukeyama: A Japanese Maple That Keeps Its Color Through Summer Heat
One of the Japanese maples in my collection is Tamukeyama - with its cascading, lace-like branches and deep red foliage that doesn't fade through summer, it holds a special place for me.
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Red Gem Goumi: The Cultivar With a Cherry-Like Flavor From Kiev
Another addition to the goumi family in my garden: Red Gem. Unlike Big Gem, this cultivar has a clear selection history behind it - and the flavor reflects that.
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A Paradise in 500 Square Meters: Permaculture's Three Numbers and the Third Ethic
I want to share a vision I teach in my courses: a small garden can feed an entire family, a tiny fraction of the world's land could feed everyone, and we could leave the rest to Gaia - if only we take Bill Mollison's third ethic seriously.
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Is the Dutch Farming Miracle Real, or Just Dependence Wearing a New Face
Lately everyone tells the same story: a tiny country, a giant agricultural export, glass greenhouses, robots, artificial intelligence. But we're always shown the storefront. I wanted to look at what's standing behind the glass.
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Tiger Eyes Sumac: A Compact, Non-Aggressive Variety That Puts On a Riot of Color
I added Tiger Eyes, a dwarf sumac variety, to my garden - from what I've seen, unlike wild sumacs it doesn't spread aggressively, and on top of that it puts on a genuine riot of color throughout the season. Let's look at the story behind this interesting mutation and its garden value.
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Italia (Muscat) Grape: The Aroma That Solved My Garden's Variety Puzzle
My garden has a few different grape varieties - Atasarisi, Alfonso, Red Globe, and a fragrant Italian type - and I wasn't sure which one a particular cluster belonged to. The berry shape and that signature muscat aroma solved the puzzle: it's Italia.
Read more"Keep the cycle, the future is in your hands."
— HE-QA Garden
Permaculture for me is not just a gardening technique — it's a life philosophy. To repair the soil, keep the cycle and leave a richer nature for future generations. Every seed is a trust, every cutting a hope.
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Letters from the Garden
Seasonal planting calendars, rare plant introductions and permaculture tips. Once a week.