gaia's garden - a guide to home-scale permaculture

[...]... GARDEN as ECOSYSTEM Chapter 1 A Introducing the Ecological Garden AFOOT toward more natu a andscaping Many gardeners are turning their 7 hliC ir .-_ on the lawn, in particular People are digzrir_r up their resource-guzzling grassy swards and r.-talling native plant gardens, wildlife-attracting -1 -_ : Kets, or sun-dappled woodland habitats It's an acouraging trend, this movement toward more tcolozically... world and for people, offering fo( and other products for self-reliance, as well beauty and inspiration BEYOND—WAY BEYOND—NATURAL GARDENING Some of what you have read so far may soun familiar The past twenty years have seen the arrivi of native plant gardens and landscapes that mimi natural groupings of vegetation, a style usuall called natural gardening Many of these garden attempt to re-create native... seen Perennials versus Annuals Next, the ecological garden imitates a mature ecosystem by emphasizing perennials rather than annuals For ornamental and wildlife gardens, this is easy, as thousands of perennial flowers, shrubs, and trees are available At first glance, though, perennials seem a tough limitation for vegetable gardens However, I'm not saying that tomatoes and peppers are taboo I still... not a static, unchanging place, but has a dynamic and resilient stability Compared to a conventional garden, there is little role for pests, disease, invasive plants, and upheaval Nature has sewn the forest together into a unified tapestry, rather than a collection of disconnected plants and animals With the contrasts between the annual garden and the mature forest in mind, wcan think about arranging... to an Prairie and savanna flourish dynamic and resilient stability earlier phase Most landscapes only under certain environare a mosaic of many succesmental circumstances These sionary stages, at many scales include low rainfall, heavy animal grazing, and frequent fire Since few suburAfter disturbances ranging from a catastrophic forest fire to a single blown-down tree, the earliest banites encourage... plant communities b assembling plants into backyard prairies, wood lands, wetlands, and other wild habitats So gar dening with nature may not be a new idea to some readers Ecological gardens also use principles derived from observing and living in wild land, but toward a different end Natura4 gardens consist almost exclusively of native plants, and are intended to create and restore habitat for oft-endangered... light to harvest When humans make a clearing, nature leaps in, working furiously to rebuild an intact humus and fungal layer, harvest energy, and reconstruct all the cycles and connections that have been severed A thicket of fast-growing pioneer plants, packing a lot of biomass into a small space, is a very effective way to do this Permaculture' s co-originator, David Holmgren, calls these rampantly... is a nonnative—containing farm and a factory forest, with the environmental destruction they bring, providing for that native-loving suburbanite's needs In contrast, a yard planted with carefully chosen exotics (and sure, natives too) will reduce the ecological damage done by the human occupants far more than a native-plant garden Taking care of ourselves in our own yards means that factory farms and... that relentlessly in the bare ground of a garden Naked earth also washes away with rain, which means we'll have to do more tilling to fluff the scoured, pounded earth that's left, and add more fertilizer to replace lost nutrients INTRODUCING THE ECOLOGICAL GARDEN 7 Solid blocks of the same plant variety, though easy to seed and harvest, act as an "all you can eat" sign to insect pests and diseases Harmful... fungus, bacterium, or potentially invasive plant is surrounded by a natural web of checks and balances If one species becomes too abundant, its sheer availability makes it a tasty, irresistible food source for something else, which will knock it back to manageable ley8 The Garden as Ecosystem els That's how nature works, and it's a useful for the ecological gardener To create a well-balanced garden, . the garden becomes an Eden where the gardener and garden exist in true harmony. The world we dream of, sus- tainable and beautiful, takes shape in the ecologi- cal garden. Gala's Garden. plant gardens and landscapes that mimi natural groupings of vegetation, a style usuall y called natural gardening. Many of these garden attempt to re-create native plant communities b . assembling. eco- logical damage done by the human occupants far more than a native-plant garden. Taking care of ourselves in our own yards means that factory farms and forests can shrink. Somewhere a farmer won't