Become a Member
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
Pinterest
  • New Plants
    • New Plants Search
    • Green Thumb Award Winners
  • Year Of Plants
    • Year of the Amaryllis
      • Amaryllis Pictures
    • Year of the Broccoli
      • Broccoli Pictures
    • Year of the Celosia
      • Celosia Pictures
    • Year of the Orchid
      • Orchid Pictures
    • Year of the Rudbeckia
      • Rudbeckia Pictures
    • Year of the Spirea
      • Spirea Pictures
    • 2022 Year Of Plants
      • Year of the Gladiolus
        • Gladiolus Pictures
      • Year of the Lilac
        • Lilac Pictures
      • Year of the Peperomia
        • Peperomia Pictures
      • Year of the Phlox
        • Phlox Pictures
      • Year of the Salad Greens
        • Salad Greens Pictures
      • Year of the Verbena
        • Verbena Pictures
    • 2021 Year Of Plants
      • Year of the Hardy Hibiscus
        • Hardy Hibiscus Pictures
      • Year of the Garden Bean
        • Garden Bean Pictures
      • Year of the Hyacinth
        • Hyacinth Pictures
      • Year of the Monarda
        • Monarda Pictures
      • Year of the Sunflower
        • Sunflower Pictures
        • #YearoftheSunflower Video Contest Winners
    • 2020 Year Of Plants
      • Year of the Lavender
        • Lavender Pictures
      • Year of the Lantana
        • Lantana Pictures
      • Year of the Hydrangea
        • Hydrangea Pictures
      • Year of the Iris
        • Iris Pictures
      • Year of the Corn
        • Corn Pictures
    • 2019 Year Of Plants
      • Year of the Snapdragon
        • Snapdragon Pictures
      • Year of the Dahlia
        • Dahlia pictures
      • Year of the Pumpkin
        • Pumpkin Pictures
      • Year of the Salvia nemorosa
        • Salvia nemorosa pictures
    • 2018 Year Of Plants
      • Year of the Coreopsis
        • Coreopsis Pictures
      • Year of the Tulip
        • Tulip Pictures
      • Year of the Calibrachoa
        • Calibrachoa Pictures
      • Year of the Beet
        • Beet Pictures
    • 2017 Year Of Plants
      • Year of the Daffodil
        • Daffodil Pictures
      • Year of the Brassica
        • Brassica Pictures
      • Year of the Rose
        • Rose Pictures
      • Year of the Pansy
        • Pansy Pictures
  • Combo Ideas
  • Inspiration
    • NGB Blog
    • FAQs
    • Newsletter
    • Pinterest
    • Promote Gardening
    • #YearoftheSunflower Video Contest Winners
    • Snapdragon Video Winners
  • Education
    • Member Blogs
    • Books
    • Online Courses
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
  • Products
    • Garden Books
    • Garden Décor
    • Garden Tools
    • Green Thumb Award Winners
  • Shop Members
    • United States
    • Canada
  • Garden Grant
    • Grant Application
    • Therapeutic Grant Program
  • Contact
Working with Nature by incorporating Permaculture - National Garden Bureau

5 Ways to Incorporate Permaculture Into Your Garden Design

Foodscaping, Garden Planning & Design, Planning and DesignJanuary 9, 2020gail
5 easy ways to create a permaculture garden design leveraging the natural processes to regenerate the ecology of the site.

“Permaculture” is one of those words that you hear in gardening enthusiast circles, but what the term means is not exactly well known.

This guide will help you understand a bit of what permaculture is about and how you can apply permaculture concepts to benefit your garden. So let’s get down to business.

What is a permaculture garden design?

According to Bill Mollison, cofounder and father of the movement, “Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems.”

In other words, permaculture gardens leverage natural processes to regenerate the ecology of a site. They do this while also yielding useful things such as food, fiber, fuel, fodder, fertilizer, or “farmaceuticals”.

5 easy ways to help create your own permaculture garden layout…

5 Ways to Incorporate Permiculture in to Your Garden - An inspired edible landscape - National Garden Bureau

Tenth Acre Farm Permaculture Landscape – photo credit: Ken Stigler Photography.
“The author’s permaculture-inspired edible landscape”

1: Develop Healthy Soil

Soil is a gardener’s most valuable asset. Healthy soil contains organic matter and beneficial organisms. It manages nutrients and water efficiently, resists erosion, pests, and disease, and generally provides a happy home for your favorite crops.

Rather than considering what a crop needs to be happy, expand your viewpoint to consider what the soil needs in order to be a healthy, thriving foundation for growing crops. Creativity and resourcefulness can help understand the unique conditions of your garden so it can thrive.

2: Use Water Wisely

A plan for managing water efficiently is an important aspect of a permaculture-designed garden. Are you wasting water by allowing it to run off the garden site or into the sewer? Is it causing erosion or pooling in areas where it isn’t desired? A host of water management tools in the permaculture toolbox can divert, slow, or catch water to solve these woes.

Permaculture design helps discern how and when to use these tools in the right context to use water wisely, reduce watering time, and establish the right amount of moisture for healthy soil and crops.

3: Layer Multifunctional Plants

Many plants can serve several functions in the garden. For example, soybeans may fix nitrogen in the soil while providing an edible crop, while cilantro/coriander ( Coriandrum sativum ) is a popular edible herb and spice that also attracts beneficial insects and pollinators.

Look for ways to create a more diverse, ecological garden by layering together multifunctional plants.

4: Manage the Edges

Managing the edges of a garden site is an important step in permaculture design. By defining the edges, you can better control what comes on the property, such as weeds, pests, wind, aerial chemicals, or water. Perennial hedgerows or flower borders are a great way to frame the edges of a garden. They protect it from harsh conditions and provide habitat for beneficial wildlife, such as pollinators, toads, or snakes. Read more about Just Planting the Edges with Foodscaping to find out more about adding food crops to your landscapes.

Permaculture looks at the whole system to see how patterns emerge. Rather than focusing on an isolated problem inside a garden bed, zoom out to include what’s going on below the surface and around the edges.

5: Design Plant Guilds

A permaculture guild is a grouping of plants that supports a central element such as a fruit or nut tree. Consider underplanting a tree with plants that offer an additional harvest or that perform supportive functions.

Some examples are plants that fertilize, repel pests, attract beneficial insects, or create mulch. A guild integrates plants together to maximize the harvest while reducing cost, labor, and the need to import materials.

Tenth Acre Farm "Strawberries growing in the author's front yard permaculture landscape" - National Garden Bureau

Tenth Acre Farm Strawberry Landscape photo credit: Amy Stross, TenthAcreFarm.com.
“Strawberries growing in the author’s front yard permaculture landscape”

Put it Together: Designing the Permaculture Garden

The tools in the permaculture toolbox can help create productive, ecologically rich gardens. However, the key ingredient that ties exciting things like healthy soil, passive water management, hedgerows, and plant guilds together is the design process, which emphasizes observation and careful planning. This is the heart of permaculture — integrating thoughtfully selected techniques into a seamless design that works with nature. Each component contributes to the whole.

Before diving in with the “doing”, take some time to observe the garden site. Look for inefficiencies, for example, tool storage that is far from the garden and demands more walking.

Written by Amy Stross
Author The Suburban Micro-Farm: Modern Solutions for Busy People

“This post is provided as an educational/inspirational service of the National Garden Bureau and our members. Please credit and link to National Garden Bureau and author member when using all or parts of this article.”

Please share…

5 Ways to Incorporate Permaculture Into Your Garden - National Garden Bureau
Previous post Tasty Compact Vegetable Seeds to Grow Next post 5 Lovely Uses for Lavender

Follow Blog via Email

Sign-Up to receive notifications of our new posts.

Search

Topics

  • DIY Crafts & Gifts
  • Flower Shows and Festivals
  • Garden Grant Recipients
  • Gardening as Therapy
  • Gardening Books
  • How-to
  • Indoor Gardening
  • Kid's Gardening
  • Planning and Design
    • Backyard Habitat
    • Container Gardening
    • Garden Planning & Design
    • Perennials
    • Plants for Shade
  • Plant Care
    • Pests and Diseases
    • Plant Care & Maintenance
    • Soil, Compost and Mulch
    • Winter Gardening
  • Planting
    • Flower Gardening
    • Foodscaping
    • Herbs
    • Planting Tips
    • Seeds and Seed Starting
    • Vegetables
  • Pollinator Gardening
  • Recipes

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017

Contact

National Garden Bureau
5201 Walnut Ave., Suite 3
Downers Grove, IL 60515
Phone: 630-963-0770
Email

Quick Links

New Plants
2022 Year Of Plants
Inspiration
Shop Our Members
National Promotions
Garden Grant
AAS Winners
Video Contest Winners

About NGB

Who We Are
Become a Member
Member Directory
Member Photo Libraries
NGB in the News

Newsletter Sign-Up

Sign-Up for our Newsletter Here

Copyright © 2023 National Garden Bureau. All rights reserved.