Cultivating Abundance for People, Plants and Wildlife

Cultivating Abundance for People, Plants and Wildlife


Welcome to Growing with Nature, where you’ll find the help you need to make the living world around you come alive with abundance for people, plants & wildlife.


Bring Nature to Your Backyard

Do you want to transform your land into a vibrant space that can feed your household and make the living world around you come alive?

Hi, I'm Daron—restoration ecologist, lifelong gardener, and founder of Growing with Nature.

When my wife and I first moved to our property in western Washington, it was almost entirely degraded pasture grass and invasive blackberries. But over the past few years, I've been bringing nature back, and transforming our property into a thriving center of abundance for people, plants and wildlife.

Welcome to Wild Homesteading! I'm Daron...

If you want to enjoy wild and nourishing abundance in the company of songbirds and wildflowers, then this is the place for you. 


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5 Pathways to Abundance

Help heal the living world

At the heart of it, a healthy living system is made up of dynamic, beautiful, interacting life. 

Soil life. Plant life. Wildlife. And of course, human life.

It may seem abstract. But there are concrete steps you can take to make the living world around you come alive with abundance, even in your own backyard.

As you revitalize the living world around you, you create abundant spaces where people, plants and wildlife can thrive together. You also create the perfect conditions to grow food—without any need for toxic chemicals.


We’ve mapped out 5 Pathways to Abundance to help you revitalize the living world around you.


Inspired by restoration ecology, permaculture, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, these are 5 paths of actionable steps you can take to begin transforming your little corner of the world into a wellspring of abundance for people, plants & wildlife.

Each of these paths works in concert with the others to help you revitalize the living world around you.

If you want to grow food, enjoy wildlife, and heal the living world around us, these pathways will help you get there.

Time to grow perennial foods

Growing Perennial Foods

When you plant perennial foods, whether it’s fruit trees, berries or vegetables, you’re making an investment that will support you for years to come. You’ll get yearly harvests without having to replant each year. Plus, these great plants will help you build soil and keep pests in balance. Ready to start growing perennial foods? Learn more.

Let's work with native plants

Working with Native Plants

Birds, butterflies, native bees, and many other critters all depend on native plants. Planting native plants connects your land to the surrounding landscape and the wildlife that live there. Plus, many native plants are edible! Native plants can provide you with yearly harvests and attract the predators that will keep garden pests in balance. Ready to work with native plants? Get started.

Building healthy soil

Building Healthy Soil

Healthy, rich soil is the foundation of a vibrant living system. You simply can’t cultivate abundance for people, plants or wildlife without it. Healthy soil retains moisture, provides plants with the nutrients they need, and supports all the life that calls your property home, including you. Ready to build healthy soil? Get started.

Let's work with wildlife

Working with Wildlife

You’re not the only one that calls your property home. When you work with wildlife, you can achieve a balance with nature where predators keep pests in check. In turn, you not only enjoy abundant harvests, but also the satisfaction of being part of a vibrant community of life. Even if you live on a small urban lot, it’s amazing how quickly birds, pollinators, and other critters will start showing up once you create the space for them. Ready to start working with wildlife? Learn more.

Start working with your land

Working with Your Land

Your land has its own character that is defined by the features on it. You may have low, wet areas or sunny, hot, rocky places. By working with your land, you can use these areas to create more abundance instead of trying to force your land to be something that it’s not. This will save you time and energy—and lots of frustration! Best yet, you’ll get to enjoy the life that’s best suited to your own unique place. Ready to start working with your land? Learn more.

Listen to the Growing with Nature Podcast

Let's cultivate abundance for people, plants, and wildlife

Welcome to the Growing with Nature Podcast. Join me on a journey to learn concrete steps you can take at home to support wildlife, grow incredible, delicious food, and help heal our living world. Right in your own back yard.

Ready to get started? Grab a shovel and roll up your sleeves. Let’s make the living world around you come alive.


Recent Episodes and Blog Posts


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