About

A pineapple started this. My parents gave me the plant, I put it in the ground, and the HOA sent a letter about my unapproved plant species. The sensible answer was a pot. I bought an acre in Sorrento, Florida, instead.

I’m Stephan. I built the house, and I put as much into it as I put into the garden. I worked with consultants to make it comfortable and healthy: the indoor air, the insulation, and fewer chemicals in the materials. Concrete is concrete, and metal is metal.

This place is about growing my own food and being more independent. It’s about making things, whether that’s a garden design or something built from wood or stone. It’s also about being connected to nature, which is why the butterfly garden matters so much to me.

Three rooms, one ongoing experiment

The Patchlands is the garden: food forest, banana grove, butterfly garden, and a compost pile with opinions. The Lab is the workshop, where I build the things the garden needs from wood, stone, and metal. Basecamp is the house, designed around the air inside it and what the walls are made of.

This is a journal from zone 9b. I write down what I tried, what happened, and what I still cannot explain. The Garden Pals are the cast: illustrated characters tied to the real plants, with a habit of commenting on the work.

One post a week. Results get reported whether they worked or not.

Stephan, the Backyard Alchemist