Acorus Restoration Native Plant Nursery
& Blazingstar Learning Centre
August 2014 Newsletter
Acorus Restoration Native Plant Nursery & Blazingstar Learning Centre
SALE Wholesale Prices

Saturday and Sunday September 6-7

All Stock - Plugs and Pots  

We will be available to help you at the farm 

Sat. 10am-4pm, Sun 10-1pm

(otherwise please preorder online and arrange pickup)

 

Sale Wholesale Orders

Orders Placed before September 6 receive 20% off

$0.80/plug originally $0.95 

$1.90/4"pot originally $2.25

 

 

I'm selling the farm myself now and have listed it on ComFree.com/541879 and MLS. I've priced it to sell so that the farm can be used as natural land, organic agriculture, retreat centre and the nursery is sold separately. (Openhouses Sunday September 7 and 14, 2-4pm) 

 

When I was looking for a farm 20 years ago to house my family and raise my newborn son this farm had everything that I wanted, a stream, house, barn, greenhouses, forest, a diversity of habitats, gently rolling land and this 93 acre farm fit all expectations.  The first few years were tough as we fixed up the greenhouses and developed the business. The land was originally rented out to a local farmer who grew potatoes, pumpkins, squash and green beans. Over the first few years I took out of production the areas of blowsand and restored them to tall grass prairie and wet areas where the farmer would get stuck in the spring were restored to wet meadow. The large fields were divided up into smaller blocks by with wide swaths of trees. Planted as seedlings they are large trees now! More restorations followed and I named them after my children for the times when they were born.

 

 

When I first moved here there were no earthworms, now the land has not been sprayed in years and can be certified organic. The diversity of birds, plants, frog, butterflies...on the farm has increased every year and you can hear the difference. The most common comment I hear is that "this place is magical". It has been a labour of love of myself and many other people.

 

The farm is next door to 200 acres of Nature Conservancy property (part of which we restored) and they have bought lots of other properties in the area. 10 minutes from Bachus Woods, Long Point, St.Williams Ecological Reserve, South Walsingham Forest block. This area has the highest biodiversity in Canada and over 30% forest cover. It is a wonderful place to live and work.  

 

At this point the people most interested in the farm are farmers looking to grow ginseng, corn and soybeans. I would prefer if it went to someone conservation minded so please pass this on!

 

I've come to the point where I can let it go now to whomever and let go of the outcome. As good friends of mine pointed out:


"Acorus is a huge creative expression - 
much bigger than my little work of art was -
but, it is a creative expression none the less.

 

And it's also true; 
that creativity is in you and 
'there's plenty where it came from'."

On that note I will move forward with the hope that the farm and business will go to the best purpose.

 

My goals in selling the farm:

  1. To pay off all debt and live debt free. At some point you take a hard look at what you are doing and realize that you are paying out huge sums of money to the bank and only making a living.
  2. Have enough cash to travel around the world for a year and have enough when I get back to restart. Invest whatever I make from the sale so the money works for me.
  3. Minimize my stuff down to a backpack and a few boxes stored with family for my return. Sell, trade and give away the rest.
  4. Minimize my needs and lifestyle to the point that I can work when I want to and not be pressured by the need to have a job.
  5. Be location independent by working at jobs and offering services that I can do anywhere in the world. Internet, yoga, meditation, consulting...
  6. Trade my skills for room and board as much as possible. Housesitting, crewing on sailboats, volunteering...
  7. By volunteering in the ecological, meditation, farming and restoration field as I travel I will see where I can fit in best for the next step in my life.
  8. Creating an organization to help people doing good work and get them the funds needed to heal the planet. As I travel interviewing people and volunteering my help to highlight their good work and get funds to help them.
  9. Write a book on my 20 years as a leader in the field of ecological restoration and native plant propagation in Ontario.
  10. 10.Letting go of my goals and allowing things to arise organically...aimless wandering.
With that in mind, it is business as usual here and we are keeping the business as a fine tuned machine for whomever might purchase it.  Seed collection is underway so if you have large seeding projects contact us to place your order now.  We are also reducing our plant stock so keep your eye out for sales. Please come for a walk to see what is blooming!

Yours in conservation,
Paul Morris


 Our 2014 Catalogue is Online!


Wholesale Pricelist has been competitively priced.  

 

Our Retail Catalogue is online and has more pictures and plants than ever!  

Feel free to download the retail catalogue pdf and share it with friends!   

 

We are also offering homeowners plugs for their larger projects.  

Minimum order is one full tray for each species.     

  

Planting Tips - Planting Design

Connecting with Nature

Head knowledge only goes so far when growing plants and doing ecological restoration. I named my first website address ecologyart as a reflection of that. When you are able to go beyond what you know about the plants and connect deeply with the plants and the habitat there is a felt sense of what you need to do.


 

From spending time in habitats all over southern ontario you learn what the plants like and do not like and there is a sense of how the plants connect in a healthy ecosystem. On paper you can recreate these communities but it is not until you are actually on the land that you fully understand where they will all come together. So many times I have received a design that does not have this deeper level of understanding and in the field had to move everything around to best suit the plants needs. Fortunately most people are understanding and give me the latitude to do that. The projects that fail are the ones that rigidly hold on to the design and all the circles they have drawn.


 

A simple way to open to nature and move beyond yourself is to go for a walk. Letting go of the need to plan a path or have an agenda and just opening up and allowing yourself to be drawn to something. Pausing and then moving on. Its not a thinking process. It is a feeling or felt sense process. Give it a try.
 

Consulting Services 

Acorus Restoration is able to oversee a restoration project from concept to completion. Our experience in ecology and restoration will certainly contribute to the success of your naturalization projects. See our Company Profile for more information.

The website also has a searchable database. Plug in your site conditions and it will give you a list of suitable species! Find plants that attract butterflies, songbirds, ducks or hummingbirds. Search by bloom colour, flowering time, form or habitat type.    

 

 Follow or like us for updates on blooming flowers, events and nursery happenings!
   Like us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterView our profile on LinkedIn 

Need a Quotation?
Phone: 519-586-2603
Fax: 519-586-2447
Email: info@acorusrestoration.com
We would be happy to help you!
Free
Prairie
Field Mix
NGOs that educate the public on habitat loss and ecological issues. Restore habitat, Guerrilla garden, offer seed to your members and the public. Just mention where you got the seed!

(farm pickup -mix of Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, Switchgrass & Little Bluestem harvested from our Tallgrass Prairie fields on the farm)
"Give Something Back"
Naturalist tour

Events September-October!
 
Love Healing the Planet!

Plant sale, Workshops and Community Potluck

Sunday September 7

    Workshops and Discussion on 

Restoring Wetland Ecosystems - 10 am

Potluck - Noon

Restoring Tallgrass Prairie - 1 pm

Walk our trail to see our Habitat Restoration Projects- Afternoon

Farm Sale Openhouse - 2-4pm


Seed Collection, Processing and Storage
Learn to collect seed to grow your own plants!

Tuesday September 9

10am til 3pm


 

Talk Humber College - Propagating Wild Plants

September 12, 11:45-12:45


 

Farm Sale Openhouse

September 14, 2-4pm


 

Open Group Meditation 
All are welcome to receive meditation instruction 
or sit with others for inspiration
You are welcome to sit the whole time or just 15 minutes

Monday to Friday 7:30-8:45 am  

We do 15 min of yoga from 8:45-9:00am

   

Yoga Drop in Classes

Thursdays 6:00 pm    

 

 
Paul is also teaching classes on
Reiki Restorative Yoga
Meditation
Ashtanga Yoga 
At Indigo Lounge in Tillsonburg
 
and 
 
Monthly Openhouse Meditation Talks at the 
Shambhala Meditation Centre of Mississauga
 
More Details are in Our Program 

 

"Relaxing - thought provoking - Eager to do more!"

"It was great to meet, greet, breath, bend, meditate, yoga. Left you wanting more!"

"Beautiful space! Beautiful people! I'll be back!"  

 

External Offerings

Need a Speaker ? Check the Talks and Workshops offered. 

   

Teachers submit your proposal for a workshop! 
 

  

"If you want to be miserable, think about yourself. If you want to be happy, think of others."
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
 
 
Check for updates at Blazingstar.ca 


Acorus Restoration Native Plant Nursery & Blazingstar Learning Centre
722 Concession Road 6, RR#1
Walsingham, Ontario N0E1X0

Phone: (519) 586-2603
Fax: (519) 586-2447 

info@ecologyart.com    

 

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