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KEYSTONE PERMACULTURE LLC

@keystone.permaculture

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🧑🏻‍🌾Permaculture is our passion!
🌱Edible & Native Landscaping
📍Philadelphia and surrounding burbs

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A small patch of grass can become a lot more than a lawn.

This Philadelphia side yard started as a simple patch of grass with a mature dogwood. We kept the tree and built the new garden around it, replacing the lawn with a mix of native plants, including many Keystone species.

Today, the garden is overflowing with blooms and foliage. But the real goal wasn't just to make the space more beautiful, it was to make it useful to birds.

Native plants provide the food that brings birds in. Insects through the growing season and seedheads later in the year. The existing dogwood, along with the new shrubs and plantings, gives them places to feed, shelter, and move through the garden.

It's a small space, but it doesn't take much room to make a difference.

A patch of lawn became a living garden, and now there's a lot more going on here than there used to be. a native garden in front of a old carriage house taken in East Falls by @keystone.permaculture

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2 months ago

At first glance, it's a beautiful garden. Look a little closer, and it's a living habitat.

Native bees disappear into the flowers. Butterflies drift from bloom to bloom. Goldfinches arrive as the seedheads mature. The landscape changes with the seasons, and so do the creatures that call it home.

This Elkins Park garden was designed entirely with native plants; not just because they're beautiful, but because they're part of the local ecosystem. Every species was chosen to provide habitat, food, or seasonal interest, creating a landscape that will become even more beneficial with each growing season.

We often think of a garden as something we build, but in reality, we're creating the conditions for nature to return. When homeowners choose to enhance an existing garden bed or replace sections of lawn with native plants, the benefits are often visible almost immediately.

For this homeowner the goal was simple, to replace non-native plants with a landscape that welcomed pollinators and birds. We'd call it a mission accomplished.

Today, the garden supports local wildlife, provides a colorful backdrop for their outdoor seating area, and has become a place where their child can grow up surrounded by butterflies, birds, and the changing seasons. taken in Elkins Park, Cheltenham by @keystone.permaculture

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3 months ago

What was once your typical front yard slope covered in English ivy, vinca, and other invasive weeds is now a bustling native habitat. We removed all of the foreign plants and replanted this slope as a landscape native to our area. Native perennials and grasses now hold the hillside together while providing nectar, seeds, shelter, and 4 seasons of interest.

To stabilize the soil, we also built a drystack retaining wall from locally sourced Wissahickon schist. The local stone ties the landscape to our region and provides pockets of habitat for insects and other small critters. The transformation is functional just as much as it is visually pleasing. As the plants have matured, the garden has become a living habitat. Bees visit the flowers, butterflies drift throughout, and birds stop in to forage.

One of the most rewarding parts of native landscaping is watching the gardenn improve over time. Every year the plants grow stronger, the wildlife becomes more abundant, and what was once an overlooked hillside becomes a place that's both beautiful and ecologically valuable.

#NativePlants
#NativeGarden
#PollinatorGarden
#EcologicalLandscaping
#Permaculture
#HabitatGarden
#GardenTransformation
#RewildYourYard
#BirdFriendlyGarden
#PollinatorHabitat taken in Elkins Park, Cheltenham by @keystone.permaculture

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2 months ago

Checking back in on this beautiful LBI NJ native garden installation from this spring. The grasses are really showing off this time of year! #nativeplants #plantnative #gardendesign #nativelandscaping #keystonepermaculture taken in LBI NJ by @keystone.permaculture

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2 days ago

We just finished up another native plant installation in the cottage garden style. This garden in Glenside is situated above a wissahickon schist retaining wall which is our local stone and looks lovely in the light. We removed the English ivy that was covering the area.

This space originally was home to a large pine tree which unfortunately came down last year. The stump remains as you can see in the center bed of the garden. There is a path that winds through the garden, the entryways are marked with inkberries on either side.

This garden went from an incredibly low ecological state to a lush paradise full of blooms from spring through fall. The pollinators showed up immediately and are loving their new buffet.

We cannot wait to see this space fill in and evolve over the years!

#nativeplants #plantnative #gardendesign #nativelandscaping #panative taken in Glenside, PA by @keystone.permaculture

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4 days ago

Fall planting season is upon us and we need extra hands.

Keystone Permaculture is looking for seasonal installation and maintenance crew members to join our team.

We specialize in native landscaping and ecological gardening, creating gardens that support local wildlife and bring more life to the places we live.

Pay: $20–$30/hour, depending on experience.

We're looking for people who enjoy working outdoors, take pride in their work, and want to be part of a hands-on team. Experience with landscaping or gardening is preferred. Transportation and drivers license is required.

Interested? Send us a message or reach out on our website to learn more about the position.

Know someone who might be a good fit? Share this post with them! A Job posting that says "we're hiring!" looking for installation and maintenance crew members. by @keystone.permaculture

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5 days ago

This Wyndmoor backyard is beautiful at sunset! We designed this space with a variety of native plants, a mix of partial shade tolerant plants, and full sun plants. chosen to provide blooms across three seasons! And to compliment the beautiful patina on the stone retaining wall.

Now the home owner can enjoy the beautiful view in their backyard while also supporting pollinators and wildlife. As well as having a lower maintenance demand as we chose well behaved and proven varieties. The bees were already all over this garden which is always gratifying!

#nativeplants #plantnative #gardendesign #nativelandscaping #panative taken in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania by @keystone.permaculture

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7 days ago

This garden is now a lush welcome to this home in Chestnut Hill. We designed this space with a native mix of partial shade tolerant plants, chosen to provide blooms across three seasons!

This fenced in garden is the first thing you see when walking up the path to the front door. It includes a mulched path that meanders through the space. This homeowner wants to help birds and this garden does just that. We included plants that have great seed heads for bird forage, as well as host plants to many insects that birds feed upon.

#nativeplants #plantnative #gardendesign #nativelandscaping #panative taken in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by @keystone.permaculture

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13 days ago

This shaded garden sits directly in front of our clients home, making it a focal point from both the the long entryway drive and the porch. We redesigned this planting with a native mix of shade tolerant plants, chosen to provide blooms across three seasons while also standing up to one of the bigger challenges on this property... the deer that call it home!

The existing cobblestone border had started to settle over time, so we lifted and reset it as part of the project, giving the garden a cleaner edge and bringing the whole space back together.

At the center, we placed a kinetic sculpture which gives the garden something structural to contrast the foliage below. Its motion adds a little life and movement to a space that would otherwise be fairly static.

This garden changes throughout the seasons, welcomes you as you arrive, and gives you something interesting to look at from the porch.

Native shade plants, three seasons of blooms, a little movement, and hopefully fewer plants being eaten by deer. #nativeplants #plantnative #gardendesign #nativelandscaping #panative taken in Abington, Pennsylvania by @keystone.permaculture

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a month ago

Who says a native garden can’t look like an English cottage garden?

This garden started out as a typical zoysia lawn. A few weeks ago, we replaced it with a variety of native plants designed to create the lush and layered look of a traditional cottage garden.

It’s already filling in nicely, with blooms and foliage filling in the spaces between and plenty more to come as the plants establish.

We also added to the existing garden along the front of the house and planted a Sweetbay Magnolia to the treeless space. To keep the evil zoysia from creeping back in, we installed Corten steel edging around t he garden to give it a clean edge. The Corten steel will weather intentionally over time bringing in a warm earthy tone.

One of the things we enjoy most about native landscaping is that you’re not limited to one particular style. Native plants can be used to create formal gardens, cottage gardens, woodland gardens, meadows, or something completely different.

This one just happens to look like an English cottage garden except wwith a lot more wildlife! #nativeplants #plantnative #keystonepermaculture #gardendesign #nativelandscaping taken in Elkins Park, Cheltenham by @keystone.permaculture

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a month ago

For the second phase of this Newtown project, we added two cedar raised beds and filled them with a dense mix of leafy greens and herbs, creating a succession of harvests throughout the growing season. Herbs and greens are right outside the door, while the fruit trees will continue to become more productive as they mature.

Growing food in an outdoor living area is a great way to bring productivity into your life. It will be a beautiful and functional element in this garden, quietly growing as the family enjoys the space. Placing it in a highly used area ensures it will be cared for and enjoyed. With thoughtful design, food-producing plants can become an integrated part of a beautiful outdoor space.

If you’re interested in growing more of your own food but don’t know where to start, we’d love to help design and build a productive landscape that works for your space. #permaculture #gardendesign #keystonepermaculture #papermaculturedesign #foodgarden taken in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania by @keystone.permaculture

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2 months ago

This residential native planting was designed to bring more native insects and habitat into the Yard while still working with everyday life.

One challenge with this property was protecting the new plantings from the family's dogs.. Instead of putting up a large, obvious barrier, we installed a low wire fence around the garden. It's subtle enough to blend into the landscape, but gives the plants some protection while they get established.

The planting will change quite a bit as it matures. Flowers willl come and go throughout the seasons, the plants will fill in, and more pollinators will find this oasis.

Giving gardens the right start is one of the most crucial parts in the whole process.

#NativePlants #LandscapeDesign #EcologicalLandscaping #SustainableLandscaping #EdibleLandscapes #PennsylvaniaLandscaping Native Wildflowers along a fence. taken in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania by @keystone.permaculture

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2 months ago