Hands in the Soil, Heart in the Plants

Written By April Bartlett

Last week, I spent hours weeding and harvesting flowers at Friends of the Trees Botanicals with Skeeter Pilarski—a true wizard of permaculture and medicinal herbs. If you ever get the chance to join one of his work parties, go. In just a few hours, you’ll learn more about plants, soil, and ecological reciprocity than most books can teach.

So it gives me great joy to share this clip from The Backcountry Herbalist’s Hands on Plants series, where Skeeter and his son Ashley break down how they cultivate over 80 species of medicinal herbs on a tiny quarter-acre plot in Chimacum, Washington.

In This Video, You’ll Discover:

  • Soil-building secrets (no synthetics, just symbiosis)

  • How the farm collaborates with wildlife (bees, birds, and beyond)

  • Productive hedgerows—grown for free at Finn River Orchard

  • Why “small-scale” doesn’t mean “small-impact”

Watch the full video:

Why This Matters

This video is an exquisite example of ecological storytelling. Every plant Skeeter and Ashley grow is a node in a web of reciprocity, from soil microbes to community health. As someone who’s worked alongside Skeeter for years, I can attest: their approach is revolutionary in its simplicity.

Get Involved

🔗 Explore Friends of the Trees Botanicals
🌱 Support Backcountry Herbalist’s series (and access monthly classes) on Patreon

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April Bartlett
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