NATIVE: native plants are best suited to our area, since they've been growing here far longer than we have. Plus, they provide food and habitat for a vast amount of native fauna, including birds, insects and other pollinators. By utilizing native plants whenever possible, we support our native ecosystems and enhance our population of native pollinators, thus reducing our dependence on increasingly vulnerable honeybee colonies for pollination.

EDIBLE: humans are a part of the natural world, and we need to eat too! Every bite of food we can produce for ourselves in our own backyards means one less inch of wilderness that must be bulldozed to feed us outside the city limits. Also, to connect ourselves and our families with the processes of growing food is an empowering step in the quest for greater self-sufficiency. Not to mention, the food is delicious!

LOCAL: by supporting local independent businesses and culture, we weave a gorgeous, supportive web of neighbors, friends, and families and ease our reliance on distant, volatile economics and rapidly dwindling energy reserves needed to transport goods long distances.