Hello! I’m Denise Crawley. Since 2014, I have been turning my yard into a sustainable and edible landscape. It has been such a cool experience and we have been rewarded with lots of food and some great memories

My laid-back gardening style proves that growing your own food doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. With a little creativity, anyone can grow a beautiful and productive garden and I dedicate a lot of time to teaching others how to do it too.

We have 12 laying chickens and a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs growing throughout the yard. We believe in using plants that support the local ecosystem and natural methods to keep our plants healthy, reduce waste and conserve resources.

We now have a garden that provides us with lots of fresh produce and a peaceful sanctuary with minimal effort using free and natural resources.

Throughout my site, you will find tips, resources, and inspiration for creating your own food forest. Whether you have a small balcony or a large property, anyone can create a beautiful and bountiful garden that supports both you and the environment.

Rockledge Gardens

I started working for Rockledge Gardens in 2019, and since then, I have learned so much about the importance of reducing our footprint and supporting local ecosystems. It’s been a great experience working with their customers and employees, who give me so much insight into the amazing ways gardens impact our lives.

Rockledge Gardens allows our community to reduce steps in the supply chain, which is not only important for the health of the entire environment but for my local community here in Brevard County where we are host to so many beautiful local beaches and the world-renowned Indian River Lagoon.

As their marketing coordinator and educator, I get to reach a mass amount through seminars and social media platforms to spread the word on ways that we can all collectively improve our environment and address the big disconnect between nature, growing food, and being human.

Gardening club at Williams Elementary

In 2022, I reached out to a new audience when my son and I started a gardening club at his elementary school.

Each month we meet up after school to learn about gardening concepts, then we head to the school’s garden to apply everything we have learned.

We only meet monthly, so I have picked out easy-to-grow plants that require little maintenance and we plant as many things as possible to ensure something will grow.

During the first 2 months, we were hit by 2 hurricanes and a long drought. So the struggle is real, but nature is resilient and things have started growing.

Check out our school gardening page where you can see what we are up to and donate to support the program.

It’s never too late to start growing your own food.